A Godfather's Duty
by daily-chan
Summary: A pregnancy is supposed to be the happiest time of your life, but when disaster strikes; Lily, James and Sirius unexpectedly change the odds and take a path that plays right into the hands of Prophecy. How far would you be willing to go to protect someone you love? Involves mpreg but no slash. Only strong friendship and bromance. NOT PART OF MY "A BOND OF FAMILY" SERIES!
1. Chapter 1

A Godfather's Duty

_Warnings: Male pregnancy, and chapters involving a man being pregnant though no slash or rape is involved. Some language that may be considered strong and strong bromance. If you cannot handle two grown men hugging, having emotions and holding hands then you should hit the previous page button now._

_Contains abusive past for Sirius that is mentioned now and then._

_Summary: A pregnancy is supposed to be the happiest time of your life, but when disaster strikes Lily, James and Sirius unexpectedly change the odds and take a path that plays right into the hands of prophecy. How far would you go to protect someone you love? Involves mpreg but no slash. Only strong friendship and bromance._

_Characters: Lily, James, Sirius, Dorea, Charlus and a little bit of baby Harry. No Remus, Voldemort or Peter aside from being mentioned._

_Special thanks to Kitty for reading and beta-ing this. I can never thank you enough for your work!_

_Xxxxxxx_

_A Godfather's Duty Prologue_

"I'm pregnant."

The words were barely above a whisper and if he had been making any sound he might have missed them being spoken completely.

But he hadn't been making a sound while holding Lily's long hair back as she had been throwing up into the toilet for the past hour.

It had only been a few minutes since she had stopped and he had flushed while she leaned back against him exhausted.

Her face betrayed the fear she clearly felt inside and he felt his heart clench painfully as he realised just what she had said.

"Does James know?" he asked softly, carefully moving her into a sitting position against the bathtub before settling beside her on the cold floor.

She shook her head. "I haven't dared to tell him yet."

She seemed to try and find more words, presumably to explain what she meant by that but he didn't need any. He understood perfectly.

Taking a deep breath he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against his side as he nodded.

"Well...we'll face it together as we do everything else."

"We will?"

"Of course, we are family. It is what we do."

A watery smile was the answer to his words, and he returned it before it widened.

"A baby...you are having a baby," he said softly but happily and despite her obvious fear she smiled, too.

"Yeah."

They glanced at one another before they both beamed and they hugged each other close for a long moment.

"Congratulations Lil. When are you going to tell James?"

"I planned on telling him the moment I found out but I keep chickening out because ...well..."

"You are both very active in the Order, wanted dead and it doesn't look like this war is going to end anytime soon, so you feel like you are violating the unspoken agreement the two of you made of waiting with having children until you could offer them a safe life in a time of peace."

"Well...yes. How did you know that?"

"I know the two of you. And even if it is rather unexpected, he'll be more than welcome."

"He?"

"The old and Noble families always have sons for firstborns. Don't know why but it has been like that for many generations now."

"Oh...a baby boy. What do you think he'll look like?"

"I hope he'll take after you. I don't think I'd be able to stop feeling sorry for the poor thing if he inherited James' bird nest hair."

Lily laughed. "James' hair is cute."

A sceptical look had her laugh even harder. "Okay, it is a disaster. But it's a Potter trademark."

"True, Dad has the same horrible hair as does Gramps."

They both snickered before Lily leaned against him again, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Do you think James will be happy?"

"He will explode in very unmanly squeals, spin you around and snog the breath out of you before dancing up and down while screaming he's going to be a daddy."

"You sound sure of yourself."

"Want to make a bet?"

She looked at him with a calculating glance. "I should be wiser by now but you are on. A Galleon?"

"Deal."

He scrambled to his feet elegantly before holding out a hand to her.

"You shouldn't sit on the cold floor like that. No more coffee or red meat and lots of rest for you," he ordered as she let him help her up.

"Are you going to be one of those overbearing uncles?"

"Definitely."

He beamed at her, making her laugh again before he pulled her into another hug.

"Congrats Lily. You will make a fantastic mother."

She swallowed, holding onto him tightly before pulling back the slightest bit so she could look at his eyes.

"Do you really think so?"

He looked her into the eyes before placing a hand over her belly without breaking eye contact.

"I know so."

They both smiled before he suddenly lifted her up in his arms and spun her around once, making her squeal in laughter.

"A baby!" he exclaimed happily as he hugged her again, both laughing as they danced through the bathroom for a bit before she stopped him.

"Will you be there?"

"You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried. I'll have to look after the both of you, teach the baby all the things his mummy and daddy don't want him to know, spoil him rotten and smother him in hugs."

"And if it somehow turns out to be a girl?" she asked giggling.

"Then I'll be an overbearingly protective uncle, biting anyone who so much as looks at her and threaten any potential suitors that you told James to leave alone behind your back," she laughed harder before she nodded, a determined look in her eyes.

"Thank you, Siri," she said softly, smiling with him.

And that smile didn't falter even when she was still dizzy and half deaf from James' spinning and delightful yelling while handing a galleon to a beaming Sirius before he was lifted of his own feet by an overjoyed James and hugged closely.

The next two and a half months were spent in an utter bliss. Lily removed herself from most Order business while James and Sirius doted on her. She knew that any other time she would have gotten mad at their fierce over-protectiveness, but the sheer excitement and happiness her two favourite men radiated made her hold her tongue. She simply rolled her eyes as they made her feel like a princess.

And while most would expect it from her husband, Lily was a bit sad that no one got to see this side from Sirius. They never saw his caring and devoted side, the side that was truly him and that she herself hadn't known about until after she had gotten serious with James.

She had thought him arrogant, spoiled and a complete bastard. But she couldn't have been more wrong, and she smiled at the memory of his words after James had gotten her to agree to go on a date with him.

He had taken her aside, stared into her eyes with piercing grey eyes, hardened in threat.

"Break his heart or hurt him and I will make the remainder of your life a living hell."

He had scared her then, but even as she had gotten out that she wouldn't hurt James, she had realised just how protective of his friends Sirius was, especially of James and Remus.

And just how far he would go to keep them safe. It made Lily see a side of the prank loving arrogant boy that she hadn't thought he possessed. As she had truly gotten to know both of the Marauders, she had been pleasantly surprised by the true depth of their characters.

And after finding out about Remus' well guarded secret and the actions the other three took to help him, she became determined to get to know these remarkable men properly and fell deeply for James.

And in turn she had not only gained a loving and caring partner, but also the love and devotion of his best friends.

She often joked that by dating one Marauder she had gotten them all, which never ceased to make people laugh. But it was more than that.

Upon being convinced that her intentions were honourable, Sirius had become an overbearing protective and adorable brother. He had given her a taste of what a true sibling was like. They occasionally bickered about family related stuff; he'd attack her in tickling wars and was everything she had ever thought a younger sibling would be like.

But at the same time he'd become very protective of her. Helping her with small things or carrying the groceries for her. And now that she was pregnant he didn't let her do anything anymore.

Took over all the house chores and ran to satisfy all her weird cravings endlessly while James worked, since outside of the Order it was close to impossible for him to find a job as a disinherited Black.

It never ceased to amaze Lily just how much power the Black family held in the Wizarding World. How much they could still make her friend's life a hell despite that he had run away years before. Even now no one would hire him despite his perfect grades, as no one wanted to risk the anger of the Black family.

Sometimes Lily was afraid of what might have become of him if the Potters hadn't taken him in. With his striking good looks and charm, combined with having been raised so abusively Lily had no doubt where he could have ended up. And that frightened her so much that every time it crossed her mind she felt the irresistible need to hug him close to her.

It always confused Sirius when she would hug him out of the blue like that. But he always let her hold him close before pressing a kiss into her hair and ruffling it up like an older brother would do. He never did ask what possessed her on moments like that, for which Lily was truly grateful.

All in all Lily felt like one of the most loved people in the world.

So when the conversation turned to the war and their baby it was she who immediately suggested Sirius as their baby's godfather.

James had beamed at her decision, clearly having assumed he'd have to argue his point.

It had been Sirius who'd been shocked at their request. Repeatedly asked them if they were sure, and even after having agreed he seemed to doubt himself.

James often teased him for being a worry wart but his concern just made Lily even surer of her choice. Her decision and determination unexpectedly changing the odds as disaster struck when she reached her three month mark.


	2. Chapter 2 - Ten Weeks

Warnings: See Chapter 1

Chapter 2 – Ten weeks.

She had not been feeling well for a few days, feverish and stomach aches attacking her at random intervals. So it didn't come as a surprise to her when James and Sirius very nearly dragged her to St Mungo where the Healer initially called her over-worried upon first examining her.

Only after Sirius bodily threw him out of the room and demanded that a real Healer would see to his sister instead of some idiotic moron were her complains taken seriously.

Lily and James were bemused that even as a disinherited Black he could still scare the hell out of people.

She had been sure that she was indeed just too concerned, till a male Healer returned with such a serious expression upon his face that all three of them immediately tensed.

And with good reason.

He had spoken with them about rare and ancient viruses and how she was a carrier of the gene. Something not even remotely dangerous until she had gotten pregnant with a child who also carried the gene.

A long story short, she had to take the antidote and let the baby be aborted or she would die within the month.

A revelation which had left her in deep discussion with James.

"No."

"James."

James shook his head. "_No_. If there is any danger for you then it is a no. We could always try other ways, I'm not losing you."

Lily growled annoyed. They'd been arguing for the last half hour. She wanted this child, her child. Even if it would kill her, but James refused.

"This is our only chance at a child of our own James. You heard the Healer; the cure will leave me barren. I can't lose this one," she pleaded with him but he shook his head stubbornly.

"You heard the Healer," he shot back. "It's not a choice. It is either you or neither of you. I want this child too, Lily...but if you keep this baby it will mean the death of both of you and I refuse to let that happen."

Lil sighed before turning towards Sirius, who'd been oddly silent since the news had been delivered.

"What is your view on this, Siri?"

Sirius looked up to her at the mentioning of his name. "Hm?"

Lily rolled her eyes and repeated the question.

Sirius bit his lip as he stared at her for a long moment.

"I...agree with James. Losing you is not acceptable."

He trailed off and James grunted in agreement before Sirius, almost hesitated opened his mouth again.

"But I also agree with Lily. This is your child, the only chance at a child of your own. He deserves a chance at life."

James stared at him. "That's not really helpful, Siri."

Sirius glanced at him before focusing his attention back to Lily. "There really isn't a choice for you. Either you lose the baby or we lose both of you."

Lily bit her lip, seeing the logic but not wanting to admit to it.

"But...what if there was a way to keep you both alive. Would you take it even if it meant you wouldn't be carrying your baby anymore?"

Sirius' tone wasn't hesitant anymore as Lily's head shot up to him. Even James looked confused. And had to ask; "What are you talking about?"

Sirius cleared his throat before casting a Muffliato on the room so no one could overhear them. "Have you ever heard of something called a Lunar Ritual?"

Lily blinked, shaking her head but James frowned.

"That is very ancient magic, Siri."

"It is."

"And impossible to use as the carrier would have to be a close relative and I don't see Petunia doing that for Lily, not to mention that the carrier has to have magic, which she does not."

"Hard yes, impossible no."

"It is a vow of trust, loyalty and devotion, Siri. None of which applies to Petunia Dursley."

"What are you two talking about?" Lily asked confused.

James shifted as he turned his attention to her.

"In the old days the darker families created a spell that would protect their bloodlines in case the Heirs or Head of House' wives weren't trusted. It allowed a close relative to basically steal the foetus and act as a carrier. The foetus would not get any significant genes from the carrier due to the shared gene pool with the parent. Which is why it had to be a close relative so that the carrier could only provide a safe and reliable body to keep the foetus save in."

"Why is it not something I have ever read about?" Lily asked.

Sirius shifted. "Because it is considered very dark magic since they started to use it to cripple other families by stealing their foetuses."

"How do you two know about it then?"

"I was taught the spell and the ritual when I was young. Because we are from a generation with few pureblood females my father wanted me to know things that could endanger our line like that."

"How would it endanger your line?"

"Because if an infant was stolen it would still be my blood and Heir and if it was born to the wrong family they'd either kill my heir or use it against me in the long run."

James sighed. "What I don't understand is why we are even discussing thing. It isn't usable."

"That is where you are wrong James."

James looked at Sirius confused.

"How am I wrong? Petunia wouldn't be a match."

"I wasn't thinking of Petunia."

"Then who?"

"Me."

Both Lily and James stared at him in shock and confusion as Sirius sighed and explained it.

"We are cousins through my grandfather and your mother, so we are related. But more importantly our gene pools match. Remember the ritual?"

James took a sharp breath as an understanding look crossed his face but Lily looked at them both confused.

"What ritual?"

It was Sirius who answered her, though he did not break eye contact with James.

"Christmas of sixth year I ran away, convinced that I was pretty much worthless and unwanted everywhere. James forcefully reminded me that I was wrong, that I had a family in him and was very much wanted. To make sure I would never doubt that again he performed a blood bond ritual, making us blood brothers. I don't carry the name Potter, but by agreeing to the blood bond ritual I accepted James as my older brother."

"A close relative," Lily breathed out as she came to understand it.

"Indeed. If you agree...I could perform the spell and the ritual and ensure you both life."

"You are nuts. You would be giving up your chance at having a heir of your own since our baby would automatically be considered your heir. Not to mention that you would be burdened with carrying a foetus for six months."

"I am well aware of what it would mean, Prongs. And it would not be a burden. You named me godfather. Isn't it my duty to do everything in my power to protect my godchild?"

"In the event of our deaths yes!" James exclaimed, becoming upset.

"If I am not mistaken Lily is exactly there. About to die to try and protect her baby."

James spluttered at his words and Lily only stared at Sirius in shock.

"Look, I'm not having children, ever. Can't actually now that I think about it. Anyway, I already have the papers ready to perform a blood adoption ritual once the baby is born to make him my heir, you both know and accepted that."

He sighed as James still didn't look convinced and shifted before speaking again.

"Besides, who said a godfather's duty only starts once the baby is born? As I see it there are two choices. We either try this ritual or we lose the baby and Lily because she'll refuse not to try and it will kill them both."

"You...are truly serious about this?" James asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes."

Lily couldn't stop staring a Sirius, who was looking at James with a determined expression on his face. He truly was willing to do this for them. "Sirius..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Sirius turned to look at her and smiled slightly. "I would be really careful with your child, Lil."

Lily smiled. "It's not that, I trust you completely. I'm just worried about you. Would it hurt you?"

"No idea," Sirius answered honestly.

Lily nodded, knowing he wouldn't care about that. "How would the ritual work if we would decide to do it?"

"I'd have to suck the baby out of your belly through your belly button with a straw, drain you of your blood and push it into mine."

A full minute passed in which Lily stared at Sirius horrified before James choked on a laugh; breaking Sirius' stony expression and making him crack a smile, too.

"You..."

"Relax, it was a joke, Lily. We both have to cast a spell, perform a small ritual of blood, drink a potion and make sure we are sitting on the ground."

"Why on the ground?"

"Because we might pass out and it's less painful to just fall over than to fall out of a chair."

"Are you really sure about this Sirius? Have you thought this through? How would you handle the birth and all?" Lily asked.

"I spent the entire time you two argued thinking about it. I agree the birth might cause some concern, but we aren't there yet. I've already read all the baby books I could find when you told me about your pregnancy, so I know what to expect. And I can count on your help right?"

James sat down on the side of the bed and seemed to hesitate before he spoke. "If we do this...we would have to keep it secret from everyone."

"Why?" Lily asked.

"Because the spell we're talking about isn't just dark. It is borderline dark and very illegal."

"How illegal?" Lily asked. "Thrown in Azkaban illegal?"

"No, Kissed immediately kind of illegal."

Lily took a sharp breath. "You would risk that for us?"

Sirius shrugged. "We all risked a long time in Azkaban to become Animagi for Remus, I don't see how this is any different."

"It could be dangerous for you. When I refuse to let Lily risk her life, it doesn't mean I am all right with you doing the same thing," James said.

Sirius smiled slightly. "We don't know what will happen. I promise I'd be open about how I feel."

James debated his words in his mind before an expression of pure agony appeared on his face that Lily didn't fully understand till he spoke.

"You solemnly swear that you would tell the truth about how you feel? You swear you will let us take care of you, to let us keep you safe without argument?"

Lily swallowed as she realised he was terrified of what doing this might mean for Sirius' health. That it could endanger him and cause him harm.

Sirius took a deep breath before he met James' unwavering concerned gaze steadily.

"I solemnly swear that I will try. I cannot promise not to argue but I will try to do all that. I'll even let you run any weird cravings I might get," he added, making Lily's mouth twitch.

"If you are truly sure about this?" James asked, concern still in his voice, but also a hint of hope that Lily could understand wholeheartedly. If they agreed to this they might be able to save their baby.

"I am. I want this little Prongslet as much as you two do, James."

"I've noticed," James said dryly.

"How are we going to do this? If it is illegal and we'll need to keep both Siri and me hidden to prevent the truth from getting out?" Lily asked as she looked from one to the other.

"I've come down with a rare variation of a Muggle disease or something alike. Something you have already had so I'm not dangerous to you or your baby so I will be capable of taking care of you, who's decided to try and have this baby against Healer's advice. So complete bed rest for you and since I'm not employed anywhere I won't be missed as easily at any rate," Sirius took a breath.

"It will also allow James to leave work regularly since I can't go outside due to being contagious. And he's not in danger of spreading it because he's already had it."

"That's...brilliant," James said. "And it works in our favour that you have been coughing your head off at the last Order meeting."

"Only due to your pepper prank," Sirius said with a chuckle. "But it indeed works in our favour, which is how I got the idea."

"What about Remus, Peter and your parents?"

"We will need mum as she's a retired Healer. She could take care of Sirius, check his and the baby's health and help when it's needed," James said.

"Makes sense. I'd prefer it if Remus and Peter didn't know about it though. While James has strong Occlumency shields, neither of them do. If they knew and were somehow captured while on a mission for the Order, they'd try to keep the information hidden and be tortured for their trouble. I refuse to endanger our friends like that," Sirius spoke softly.

"While I know they would both be willing to keep the secret, I agree that it would be dangerous for them to know. It will call the attention of both our side and the Death Eaters when the two of you disappear for so long. If Voldemort wishes to discover more, Remus and Peter would be his first targets since they are our closest friends, so I agree that they shouldn't be involved. Actually, the fewer people who know the better," James agreed.

"Won't Remus be suspicious if you are missing for six months? You live together after all."

"Lil, he hasn't been home since you've been pregnant. He's been sleeping in the second bedroom for two and a half month now."

"I know that, who do you think kicked him off the couch and into that room? But he still went home occasionally right?"

"I didn't actually. James picked up some spare clothes for me after work. He could swing by our apartment to pick up some other stuff and tell Remus I'm staying with the two of you to sit out the illness and keep you company at the same time. I hate lying to him, but he's mostly on missions anyway, so he won't really miss me or notice something is wrong."

"And I could keep him company on the full moons that he might be home. It is only for six months after all."

"So...are we doing this?" Sirius asked as he looked at them both.

James and Lily glanced at one another before they both nodded.

"Are you really sure? What if you get hurt?" Lily forced herself to ask worriedly.

"Look, I won't lie to you, I don't know how things will go, if there will be trouble or not. But I am sure I want to do this for you, for little Prongslet. I am sure about this, James," he directed at his best friend as both he and Lily knew he was the biggest obstacle. James always was overprotective of Sirius and this wouldn't make him feel any differently.

James swallowed and looked at them both for a long moment before he nodded.

"Okay, let's do this then," he agreed finally.

Upon their mutual agreement they quickly discharged Lily against her Healer's wishes and returned home before James and Sirius both set out in turn to collect some ingredients needed for the difficult potion.

They took the precaution to travel to different locations to pick up their ingredients so no one might realise what they were doing. And Sirius made sure to be spotted on various spots, looking ill and coughing to plant the seeds of their cover story.

Once they had gathered all the ingredients Lily set out to brew it with Sirius' help, so it was already late in the evening when it was all ready.

"What else do we need?" she asked once Sirius had confirmed the potion was ready and lowered the fire below the cauldron to a minimum.

"A bowl, a ceremonial knife and cushions," Sirius answered, nodding as James immediately set out to gather the mentioned items from various rooms.

"It might be smart if you both kneel down onto the pillows. Less of a chance you might hurt yourselves if you would collapse."

With a nod they knelt down on the pillows and Sirius placed the bowl between them as James sat down on a third pillow.

"Shouldn't we alert mum before we do this? So that she can keep an eye on us?" Lily asked.

"Better not, she won't agree right away with our choice and we'll lose precious time with trying to convince her," James disagreed.

"Okay, ready?" Sirius asked as he held up the knife.

Lily took a deep breath before nodding. "Yes."

With a nod and a small wince Sirius slid the knife through his left hand. Blood slowly welled up before he squeezed and let it flow freely into the bowl while starting to murmur a very long and complicated sounding spell under his breath. He handed the knife to Lily who followed his example, letting her blood drop into the bowl, too, while trying not to grimace.

Questioningly she turned her attention back to Sirius to see his right hand outstretched for the knife. Carefully placing the blade into his hands, not daring to try and turn it with one hand.

But she was surprised when he folded his fingers around the blade and pushed his skin into it as he pulled his hand back slowly with a grimace.

Once blood was also dripping down that hand freely he accepted the knife and held it out to James who took it without hesitation to slide his left hand open with a painful wince, but he made no sound.

He then entwined his bleeding hand with Sirius' right one and held out his own right to Lily.

Understanding what he wanted from her she took the knife from him, holding it so that he could slit his right one open too.

She then passed the knife to Sirius so she could repeat the action before James entwined her hand with his and Sirius took her right hand, holding it in place when she made a move towards the bowl.

James and Sirius moved their entwined hands above the bowl, squeezing slightly to combine their blood as it fell into the bowl before James tugged slightly onto her own and she let him pull her hand above the bowl before she did the same with Sirius, who never stopped muttering.

While Sirius had explained it was not strictly necessary for James to be included they had agreed that it would strengthen the blood ritual they were performing if he was. The consent in his freely given blood and the already existing blood bond between Sirius and James would strengthen the spell they were performing and give the baby an extra boost of protection once the transportation had been completed.

Sirius and James released her hands simultaneously before her husband Summoned the cauldron the potion had been prepared in while Sirius lifted the bowl up, slowly letting their combined blood drip into the dark purple potion while James stirred.

Under normal circumstances she would be taking the lead when it came to potion making, but she knew next to nothing about this potion and it was too dangerous to let anything go wrong, so she only watched closely as they prepared the next step, stirring and adding the blood till the potion turned silvery blue.

Unexpectedly Sirius smiled as he had finally stopped muttering and stopped adding blood to the now slightly glowing potion.

"He's still healthy," he commented.

"So you are sure it is a boy?" Lily let out a breath of relief at the knowledge that her baby was still healthy.

"Yes or the potion would have turned a golden pink," Sirius smiled at her, squeezing her hand before picking up two silver goblets, embossed with the Potter family crest.

He dipped them into the cauldron to fill them before looking at James who raised his wand and touched both of the goblets with the tip of his wand while murmuring a blessing before nodding when the potion remained unchanged.

Sirius held the goblets in front of Lily. "You have to tip your wand against both to give your blessing as a Witch for this ritual."

Lily did as told and looked up hopeful when the potions glowed a bit brighter. Sirius gave her a nod as he repeated her action and smiled when both glowed brightly before settling again.

"It's ready," he confirmed what Lily had already realised before looking up to her.

"You are still absolutely sure?" she let out a small choked laugh as Sirius only looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She had known they were trying to save her baby but only now had she realised what it truly meant.

She was going to lose her baby even if they didn't do this and the only reason they still had a chance for this baby to survive was sitting right across her. Without Sirius their baby wouldn't stand a chance. He was willing to do this to help them have their baby, to protect him and give him a chance at life. Him...their son, the son of his best friends. A wave of gratefulness washed over her as she looked into his warm grey eyes, flushing any regret she felt at not being able to carry her baby herself.

She accepted the goblet out of his hand and raised it to him.

"We have to drink at the same time?" she asked while trying to show him how much this meant to her with her eyes, unable to voice it and knowing he wouldn't accept any thanks at any rate.

Sirius had to clear his throat before he answered, showing her he had gotten the message.

"Yes. Now might be a good time to warn mum, James. I don't know if we'll pass out or not but it's better to be safe than sorry, and then she can check on us both immediately so she knows what she has to do," Sirius advised.

James nodded before he threw a hand full of Floo Powder into the fireplace and stuck his head through to alert his parents before he withdrew again and turned to them.

"They are on their way."

Sirius turned back to Lily.

"Ready?"

"Yes," Lily nodded before they both raised their goblets.

"Cheers," they said at the same time before raising the goblets to their mouths. Lily grimaced as the taste of coppery metallic blood invaded her mouth but she forced herself to ignore the nausea that rose with it and emptied the goblet in one go before placing it down.

A sharp pain almost immediately shot through her, making her cry out before she gasped and folded her arms around her abdomen but it passed as quickly as it had arrived. Frowning she looked at her belly before a loud clattering made her look up in time to see Sirius had let go of his goblet and was breathing heavily while shaking.

James knelt down beside him and had wrapped his arms around him as it was clear he couldn't hold himself up.

"Is he..." she trailed off as Sirius' eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed.

"Sirius!" she called out alarmed, moving to stand up to go to him but that single movement was enough to suddenly make everything go black as she herself collapsed, too.


	3. Chapter 3 - Ten Weeks part 2

A Godfather´s Duty : Chapter 3

Warnings: See chapter 1

Chapter 3– Still Ten weeks.

Faint voices in the distance were the first things penetrating her thoughts as she slowly came around to find herself lying on a bed, blankets loosely covering her.

"Left...other left..." a fairly familiar voice spoke and though Lily couldn't place it right that instant she knew it was a safe voice. She wasn't in danger of any kind.

Waking up with no idea what had happened wasn't something completely new to her as it had happened more than once in this war. But usually she woke up in pain on those occasions while she wasn´t feeling any now.

"I think she's coming around," another familiar voice spoke and her mind kindly provided her with a name this time.

Sirius.

_Sirius...the baby!_

With a gasp she sat up, as the last events she could remember came rushing back to her with the identity of the speaker.

A hand was placed on her back when she started coughing upon her sudden movement.

"Easy love," it was Charlus Potter, her father-in-law, who spoke to her in a calm voice. "You are all right."

"James, she's awake," that was Sirius again, but as she turned her head to look at him her vision was blocked by the hurried approach of her husband.

"Thank Merlin you are awake. I was so worried," he sounded relieved as he pulled her into a hug.

"James? How long was I out...d-did it work?" she asked as she answered his hug while attempting to see past him.

"You were both out for almost a day, and although I am very alarmed that the three of you would attempt to perform such dark and dangerous magic, I think you will be happy to learn that it indeed worked."

Her mother-in-law, Dorea, spoke from beyond where she could see so Lily forced herself to sling her legs over the bed edge, sitting up properly and pushing James aside a bit.

"It worked? Is he safe?" her breathing stocked as her eyes caught sight of Sirius who, like her, was sitting sideward on another bed. His legs were swinging slightly where he sat and although he looked extremely pale, he seemed all right as Dorea had been taking his vitals.

"Yeah," he nodded slightly but Dorea frowned.

"It indeed worked. Though his body hasn't exactly been made to be able to carry life so he's been experiencing some strong stomach pains during the night as his body tried to adjust to this dark magic's spell."

"It is worth it, Mum," Sirius murmured, getting an affectionate caress over his cheek from Dorea in return before she wrapped an arm around his shoulder and squeezed lightly.

Lily glanced from one to the other before her gaze was drawn to her belly. The very slight bulge that had started to develop there was completely gone, making her swallow painfully before she looked back up to Sirius, needing him to be the one to reassure her.

"Is he safe?" she asked once more, trying to hold back her tears at knowing she was not pregnant anymore. That there was no longer a small life growing inside of her.

Sirius shifted out of Dorea's embrace, sliding off the bed and crossing the small distance between their beds. He sat down onto the bed at her side so that he could wrap his arms around her and pulled her close.

"He's fine," he whispered in her ear and she choked on a sob at his confirmation, making him tighten his hold before tears started to flow from her eyes and her body shook with delayed emotion.

She had been so focused on trying to save the life of her baby that she had pushed back any emotions she had felt at knowing she wouldn't be able to carry her baby to the end. Wouldn't be able to feel his first movements or experience the growth in her belly.

After a while she became aware that James had wrapped his arms around her from behind, successfully cocooning her between them protectively as they tried to comfort her.

Taking a deep breath when her tears finally dried out, she squeezed Sirius' arm softly.

"How do you know?" she asked, her no doubt red eyes looking up to his grey eyes.

"I just do. But I asked them to wait with a magical ultrasound until you had regained consciousness."

"Why did you wait?" she asked confused. "Didn't you want to know for sure that he's all right?"

"Oh I do. But I believe his mummy should be there when we see him for the first time," he said with a smile.

His words slowly sank in with her and slowly a watery smile spread over her lips.

"I didn't lose him," she whispered.

"No...you didn't. He's just slightly further away than he should be," Sirius said softly as he took her hand and let it rest against his clothed abdomen. Only then did she realise that his belly wasn't as flat as it had been just hours before, and though she hadn't been able to see anything when he had moved, she could feel the small bulge now as her hand pressed against his abdomen through his clothes.

"We really succeeded," she whispered before she let out a laugh. "Thank you...thank you..." she must have repeated the same words multiple times as she threw her hands around his neck but he didn't call her on it as he pressed a kiss on her cheek and rubbed her back softly before pulling back.

"What do you say Lil? Want to see your baby?" he asked teasingly before he nodded to Dorea and Charlus.

"You should lay flat onto your back for this and pull your shirt up," Dorea ordered as she moved closer and placed a hand on Lily's shoulder.

"Though we are not happy with the three of you doing this without informing us beforehand...James told us the reasons behind your actions and we understand. We will help you pull this off, keep you both safe and hold this secret while keeping an eye on both of their health's," she said softly as she squeezed before releasing her.

"Thank you," Lily softly said as she made to move off the bed but Sirius grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To give Dorea room to work?" she explained confused.

"You aren't going anywhere. James can shift to the side, you are staying right here. It is your baby so you should sit as close as possible to see him," he firmly said and Lily had to swallow a lump in her throat as she settled back while he stretched out onto her bed.

Not for a moment had she feared that Sirius would shun her from the events that happened with her own baby. But she had thought he would want some distance to deal with things like this and it made her extremely happy to realise she had been wrong.

To know that he wanted her close and involved in everything that was happening, to know that he had insisted they'd wait until she was able to see the baby for the first time too, told her more than anything else that nothing had changed for him. She couldn't help but bend over to place a kiss on his forehead in gratitude.

Confused he blinked at her but didn't speak up as he shifted to be able to pull his shirt up and lowered his pants so they came to rest under his abdomen.

Lily´s gaze was caught at the scars that littered her friend´s torso but she didn´t comment on them. She had known of their existence as she had walked in on him showering more than once. But he had never volunteered information about them and the times they all went swimming at Potter Manor he always wore a shirt with his swimming trousers.

She knew they made him feel uncomfortable and so she had made a promise to herself to never ask him about them. Despite knowing he must have received most of them at the hands of his parents.

The next thing her eyes caught was his bare abdomen and she reached out to touch the small bulge before hesitating just before she actually touched it, not sure if he'd let her touch him without clothes between the contact.

"I don't bite, you know?" Sirius smiled at her gently.

"I know," she admitted with a hesitant smile, touching the skin with her fingertips before letting her hand rest flatly on his abdomen.

"How does a magical Ultrasound work?" she asked after a few moments, suddenly realising she didn't know anything about it.

"Mum waves her wand over him while casting a spell that will show us an image of what's going on inside his abdomen," James explained softly, having kept silent to give her some time to come to terms with things.

"If we are lucky we might be able to see the baby move a bit, though I am not sure if he'll be very active after that ritual so don't worry if he doesn't," Charlus warned her in advance.

"I understand."

"It might be hard to conjure a proper image as the ritual you used is what formed the womb and protects the baby from magic," Dorea admitted as she moved her wand over Sirius' abdomen in a complicated looking pattern.

"So the womb acts like a protective barrier?" James asked as he moved to sit across from Lily on the bed.

"Yes," Dorea confirmed.

Suddenly a blurry image rose and Lily let out a shaky breath as her baby was revealed to her for the first time. She could easily detect his small head and what looked like tiny arms as the baby seemed to move around slowly inside the womb.

"He's beautiful," James whispered and she could only nod in agreement as she couldn't tear her eyes away from the image.

"What is that sound?" she asked as she became aware of a quick thumping sound that filled the room.

"His heartbeat," Sirius' voice was emotional as he answered her.

They reached out at the same time to take a hold of each other's hand, folding their fingers together and she finally tore her eyes away from the image to glance at Sirius' shining eyes.

"We did it Lil, he's completely safe," he whispered and Lily let out a choked laugh as she nodded and focused her attention back to the image, drinking in the sight of her child.

James wrapped an arm around her and folded his left hand over her and Sirius' entwined ones before placing a kiss in her hair.

"Our child," his voice was just as emotional as theirs as he squeezed their hands while they listened to the baby's heartbeat.

"It's so quick!" Lily exclaimed worriedly as it seemed to be so fast.

"That is very normal love. He looks completely healthy and fine where he is. See the light movements of his forming arms and legs?" Dorea asked and Lily could only nod as it was pointed out to her.

"That is him moving around in the amniotic fluids. You can see the womb around him is strong as no fluid is leaking. Your combined magic is keeping him perfectly safe inside of Sirius," Dorea explained.

"We truly created that womb?" Lily asked perplexed as she stared at it.

"Yes you did. Because Sirius is male, he doesn't have a natural womb the baby could be moved into. That is what the ritual you preformed was mostly for, to create a magical womb where the foetus could be placed into safely. And Sirius' magic is keeping him safe as well," Charlus answered as he too stared at the image with bright shimmering eyes before Dorea vanished the image again.

"Next time we can look a little longer but it is unwise to try to penetrate the womb like this any longer so shortly after it was formed," Dorea excused her actions.

"Will there be any danger for either of them?" James asked and Lily noticed that he too had placed a hand on Sirius' abdomen somewhere during the time her eyes had been on the image. Both removed their hands with a small apologising smile but Sirius only rolled his eyes at them.

"As long as Sirius takes it easy, listens to his body and follows our instructions the baby should be fine," his mother answered before she sighed. "Sirius might experience fatigue more than most pregnant women would because his magic is working to keep the baby safe. This is why I instructed him to use as little magic as possible."

"I won't. I'll also take the vitamins and other stuff Lily had to take as instructed," Sirius promised as he had pulled his shirt down again and sat sideward onto the bed, letting his legs swing slightly again.

"Why does he have to take those vitamins?" James asked. "He's healthy isn't he?"

"He is and he eats with enough variety. But it is never harmful to add some necessary vitamins when there is life growing inside of you. You already know what you can and can't eat, what you should pay extra attention to and to be careful," Dorea directed the last part to Sirius.

"I'm aware."

"Good. Then there is no more I can think of that I have to warn you about right now. I will come over once a week to check on you and the foetus," Dorea continued before she turned to Lily.

"You should drink plenty of fluids and take it easy for the next few days, too. You have already been administered the antidote while you were sleeping so you wouldn't experience the side effects from it so you should be fine health-wise. I will check on you when I come over, too. However, if you do feel that anything is wrong I want you to Floo-call me immediately."

Dorea turned back to Sirius and placed a hand on his shoulder. "The same goes for you. I am thankful you are doing this, but I expect you to watch out for yourself, too. If there is anything, anything at all you immediately contact us, all right?"

"I will," Sirius promised as he leaned into her touch almost unconsciously, making Lily and James smile.

"Any instructions for me?" James asked while trying to school his expression into a serious expression.

"Your instructions are to look after these two. Get anything Sirius wants, make sure he listens to his body and eats properly. Also, I want you to make sure he doesn't get upset or angry as his control over his magic might waver by strong emotions. And..."

"And if anything happens I have to alert you so you can check on him," James interrupted his mother with a warm smile.

"Don't get smart with me, young man," she reprimanded him with a mock-glare before she ruffled his hair, making him pout and Lily and Sirius laugh.

"Sorry Mum," he laughed while he stood up to pull her into a hug.

"If only you meant that," she sighed with a fond smile before turning to give Lily and Sirius a hug to.

"Keep an eye on him, too, and make sure he behaves," she told them.

"We will. If he's annoying I'll just make him run tons of errands for Sirius that he doesn´t really need," Lily confided to her, making James pout and Sirius laugh again.

Charlus moved forward to pull each of them into a hug, too.

"Be careful and don't let anyone see either of them. I will spread some more rumours about Sirius' failing health and complain that between our rascal and Lily's stubbornness my wife's got her hands full despite her retirement."

"Thanks Dad. That will make my job of trying to convince the Order and keeping them save and hidden a lot easier," James said.

"How will you handle Dumbledore? I object to him knowing about it but he will want to see them both eventually," Dorea asked.

"Then it is tough luck for him. I am under direct orders to keep Sirius quarantined and Lily stress free and on complete bed rest. That means no visitors, no matter who it is. If Remus and Peter can't visit then he certainly doesn't qualify," James' expression hardened.

"And if he tries to change your mind?" Lily asked.

"Then I am hexing the heck out of him. The health of my family goes before any Order business."

"And he will have to deal with me. Albus Dumbledore or not, he will not disturb my family without permission," Charlus added as he sat in between Sirius and Lily.

He wrapped an arm around Sirius' waist and pulled him against his side, letting Sirius rest his head against his shoulder as he curled up against him.

"You'd do that for us?" Lily asked as she tried to suppress a grin at their natural affective behaviour.

"I will do anything to protect my children," Charlus said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close too for a moment. "That includes you too, love."

"And now that the three of you are going to do this to give me a grandchild I will walk through hell and back to protect you all."

"So will I," Dorea added before she smiled warmly."Looks like someone was pretty exhausted."

Lily looked passed Charlus to see Sirius had indeed fallen asleep against him.

"Is he all right? I've never seen him fall asleep that quickly before, unless it was James he was leaning against," she asked with a mix of worry and amazement, keeping her voice down as to not wake him.

"He's just very tired. His body went through quite a change in a short period as it is all just catching up with him. He will probably remain tired like this for a while, so just make sure he's comfortable and kept warm," Charlus said softly before he pressed a kiss in Sirius' hair.

"He looks like a big cat," Lily commented with a soft smile as she looked at his curled up form.

Charlus smiled as he carefully manoeuvred Sirius into the bed without waking him. Sirius immediately curled up onto his side and Charlus tucked him in before straightening again.

"Gosh, I can't even remember how often you have done that since he came to live with us," James' eyes were twinkling as he observed the scene.

"I seem to remember bringing you to bed very often, too," Charlus shot back good-naturedly as he ruffled his son's hair before pulling him into another hug.

"It is about time for us to go home. You know how to reach us if you need us," he confirmed once more as he placed a kiss in Lily's hair, too.

"We do, thank you for everything," Lily smiled at the elderly couple as they moved to the fireplace.

"It is our pleasure," Dorea answered her smile before they nodded at them once more and used the Floo to travel back home.

Lily turned to James. "Let's let him sleep shall we?" she asked.

"Yeah, are you really all right?" he asked as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead.

Lily sighed before she glanced at the sleeping form on the bed and couldn't help the warm smile that spread over her lips.

"Yes...I am," she finally decided as she turned her gaze back at her husband.

"Do you want to stay in the room with him?" she asked as he had followed her gaze and it lingered there. She knew he´d be worried about Sirius even more than usual now.

"Would you mind? I feel more comfortable if we can keep an eye on him," he admitted with a small smile.

"Of course not. I feel the same. I'll pick up some books for us to read so we can pass the time," she decided as she removed herself from his embrace to do exactly that.

"Thank you," he smiled before he walked to the other bed and sat down on it, looking at his best friend's sleeping form until Lily returned.

She sat down on the bed next to him.

"How do you feel about all this? I never truly asked you," she asked despite knowing the answer.

James sighed without turning to her. "I am more than happy that he's willing to do this for us, that he has saved our baby like this. I want this child so badly that I didn't put up as much of a fight as I should when he first suggested it. But I am also terrified. What if he'll be hurt or in danger. What if something goes wrong and he pays the price? I can't bear to see him hurt again," he admitted softly before biting his lip.

Lily gave a small nod before she wrapped her arms around him.

"We will do everything in our power to make sure he's comfortable. We'll take care of him and provide him with anything he might want. I don't know what will happen but he's not alone. We'll be right at his side and work our way through this together," she smiled.

"I was so terrified when I first found out I was pregnant. He was there for me and calmed me down, didn't sugar-coat things up for me but just told me that whatever happened we'd get through it together. And that is exactly what we will do for him, too."

Finally James turned to her with a small smile. "Thank you for being such a wonderful loving wife."

"No, thank you for giving me such a wonderful loving family," Lily smiled before kissing him softly and pulling his head against her shoulder to be able to comfort him from his lingering fears.

"We'll do this together. You, me and Sirius. Just like we do everything together," she whispered, more sure of that now than ever before.

James gave an affirmative rumbling sound as he shifted so that he could keep an eye on the other bed while staying like he was and Lily couldn't help but smile at her wonderful little family before picking up a book to read. Only to never read a single page of it as her gaze kept being drawn to Sirius' sleeping form, too.


	4. Chapter 4 - Eleven Weeks

A Godfather´s Duty : Chapter 4

Warnings: See chapter 1

Chapter 4– Eleven weeks.

The slamming of the front door startled Lily and Sirius out of a light slumber violently a few days after the ritual had occurred.

"Lil! Siri!" James' voice was urgent and hurried footsteps broke the silence once more, causing them to stiffen.

"In the living room," Lily answered while trying to suppress a yawn and sitting up.

Sirius was more alert as he swiftly moved from the couch to meet James at the living room door.

"James? What's wrong?"

"Voldemort," he answered gravely as he grabbed Sirius' hand and pulled him with him to Lily.

"We need to hide our location and do it now before I even begin to explain things," he said hurriedly as he grabbed her hand too to pull her from the couch.

"The Fidelius Charm?" Sirius asked as he looked at his best friend worriedly and Lily frowned to his pulling.

"Yes. For now we'll use Lily as the Secret Keeper as I'll have to be the one to cast it. We can switch to you after the baby is born to avoid any suspicion," James said as dragged them both into the garden before letting go of Lily's hand to grab his wand.

Lily shared a confused glance with Sirius but they both held their tongue as James cast the complicated spell before Lily immediately shared the secret with them both.

"Get back inside," James ordered as she turned to him for an explanation.

"Honestly James, you are scaring me. What's going on?" Sirius asked as he let James pull him back into the house again and onto the couch without struggling against his strong grip.

Quietly Lily took a seat beside him while looking at James worriedly.

"You both know Dumbledore called for me early this morning. Frank and Alice Longbottom were there too," he explained as he started to pace before them. "There was a Prophecy made a few days ago."

"I thought you didn't believe in Divination," Sirius asked confused.

"I don't, but Dumbledore says Voldemort knows about it too and he's certainly going to believe it."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with us?" Lily asked as she watched her husband pace.

"Because Dumbledore believes this prophecy is about either our unborn son or the Longbottom's and he thinks Voldemort will come to the same conclusion soon enough," James revealed.

"What was the prophecy?" Sirius asked, reaching a hand out to pull James to a stop so that he'd look at them.

"He showed me...here," James left the room to collect their Pensieve and placed it onto the table. He deposited a memory in there before probing it with his wand to activate the memory.

An unfamiliar female rose out of it, dressed in shawls and wearing abnormal big glasses which magnified her eyes. When she spoke her voice was harsh and hoarse.

_"__The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ...__"_

As she dissolved again silence followed as all three of them stared at the Pensieve in shock.

"How does Dumbledore know about this?" Lily finally asked as she tried to work through her shock.

"It was made to him by an applicant for the position of Divination," James answered.

"How would Voldemort know about it then?" Sirius frowned.

"Because a Death Eater apparently overheard part of it before he was caught and thrown out of the bar where Dumbledore was interviewing her. And he said the Death Eater will have told his master by now."

"Why on earth would he hold an interview in a bar? Is Hogwarts not good enough for that sort of thing anymore?" Sirius asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Who cares? Why would it lead him to believe it is our child?" upset Lily turned to Sirius.

"Because the baby is expected at the end of July?" he offered uncertainly.

"Because only two couples fit the description," James answered. "At least, that's what Dumbledore said."

"Only two couples are expecting a baby in July?" Sirius asked sceptically.

"No, but he discovered that of all those expecting a baby in July only two have stood before Voldemort and lived to tell the tale thrice," James explained.

"That's not true, we haven't defied him three times," Lily argued as she realised something.

"I said the same thing, we only defied him twice but Dumbledore said that when we refused to join him after finishing Hogwarts we technically defied him too."

"No...I was counting that time. I've only come face to face with that monster twice," Lily argued, certain of it.

"Are you absolutely sure?" James asked as he looked at her.

"Yes. You faced him three times, I only faced him twice," Lily looked up to him, hoping this meant they had nothing to worry about.

"Then that means..." James sounding relieved before Sirius interrupted him softly.

"I have," they both turned to look at him immediately.

"You have what?" Lily asked.

"Defied him thrice," Sirius spoke without looking at her.

"Yeah, but you aren't the parent, the baby doesn't have your DNA so it doesn't ...," James argued.

"That's not what the wording said," Sirius interrupted once more.

"What?" both looked at him confused.

Sirius sighed. "Born to those who have thrice defied him...it doesn't say parents. It says born to those..."

"It's the same thing, "James exclaimed as he interrupted Sirius this time.

"No...It isn't," Lily whispered. "Prophecy is vague, but its wording is always exact. If she had meant parents she would have said born to parents who have thrice defied him. Sirius is right, the wording didn't say parents."

She turned to Sirius.

"How did you defy Voldemort three times? You and James have only defied him twice and he never asked you to join him like he asked us."

"Christmas of sixth year. My parents gave me a choice, join him or die. I refused and managed to get away before they killed me. That´s when I defied him for the first time," Sirius gave her an apologising glance before he turned his attention back to James, who seemed to have realised something, too.

"If you are right, then that explains why the Prophecy wasn't made before now. Dumbledore said it occurred during an interview in the evening five days ago. That was around the same time we performed the ritual. It only became valid because Sirius took over the pregnancy."

"Meaning that it is my fault your child is in danger," Sirius suddenly looked scared as he jumped up again. "I'm the reason you will be in danger..."

"No!" Lily interrupted him, grabbing his arm to pull him down beside her again. "Without you we would never be able to have this baby in the first place. This is not your fault, even if our actions will endanger us. I was willing to die to try and bring this baby into the world and I still feel the same way. I'll do anything to keep my baby safe, prophecy or not."

"But I..."

"Lily is right, Siri. Even if the ritual is the reason why the Prophecy was made, I don't regret performing it for a second. You gave us the chance at saving our own child and for that I can never feel regret," James lifted Sirius' chin so he had to look up to him.

"All three of us are targets of Voldemort and his lackeys for refusing to join him. Even if there was no Prophecy this child would still be a target too, simply because he could be used as a lever against us," James' eyes softened as he saw the emotion in his best friend's eyes.

"You are giving us the most beautiful gift we could have ever imagined. Don't you dare to ever feel guilty for doing this for us. Don't feel responsible for endangering us by enabling us to have this child, our child. We all agreed to this, not just you. I would gladly give my life if it meant keeping him safe and you know Lily feels the same way as I know you do, too, or you would never have offered to do this, right?"

He smiled as Sirius gave a small nod to confirm his words. "This new information just meant that we had to go into hiding a bit more seriously."

"Which is why you cast the Fidelius Charm," Lily realised. "No one can find us now, meaning we are perfectly safe and it has added benefits."

"Such as?" James asked as he sat down on Sirius' other side.

"It keeps me and Sirius hidden. Unless I tell someone where we are, they won't be able to find us. I will give you a note to pass the Secret to your parents but we can use this as an added excuse as to why we remain out of contact with everyone. After all, any suspected knowledge of our whereabouts will endanger them."

Sirius glanced from her to James, his eyes still worried as he turned to James and grabbed his shirt.

"Swear to me that you will be careful if you go out there. With this hanging over your heads you will become an even bigger target than you already are and I can't watch your back," he pleaded.

James looked at him for a long moment before he wrapped his arms around Sirius' shoulders to pull him close, letting him rest his head against his shoulder.

"I solemnly swear I will be careful, that I will watch my back while you are unable to."

Sirius stiffened for a moment before he wrapped his arms around James' waist and relaxed against him.

"Don't you dare get hurt," he murmured into his shoulder while he tightened his hold for a moment.

James squeezed him a bit more tightly against himself before placing a kiss in his hair. "I'll try my hardest not to get hurt as long as you don't let these silly thoughts of guilt enter your head anymore."

"Actually, you don't have to leave at all," Lily softly broke the moment as she rubbed Sirius' back softly, trying to comfort him too.

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"We are in hiding aren't we? I'm supposedly not to have any stress. Knowing you are out there, risking your life is pretty stressful and thus dangerous for me. So for the safety of our unborn child you can't go on missions because it might mean I'll lose the baby," Lily spoke logically.

"And since they don't know it is Sirius who's carrying the baby..." James trailed off.

"You can safely stay here with us for the entire pregnancy?" Sirius asked hopeful as he looked up to him.

"Exactly," Lily smiled.

"But who'd do groceries and stuff like that? Get any weird cravings Sirius has in the middle of the night?" James asked.

"We could ask your parents if we could borrow one of their House Elves for the time being. They can travel freely to places without being in danger as many people send their House Elves for groceries and they will keep the secret to themselves," Lily suggested.

"It wouldn't endanger them?" Sirius asked as he turned slightly so that he could look at Lily.

"Not likely. We could always tell them to get to safety the moment they feel they are in danger," James answered for her before he turned Sirius back to him.

"Would it make you feel better if I stayed here while you are pregnant?" he asked softly.

Sirius stared into his eyes for a long moment before he nodded slowly.

"Then I'll have Lily write that note for mum and dad while passing along the request. I'll use the Floo to do so," he pressed another kiss to Sirius' forehead before releasing him back into a sitting position and gave Lily a kiss.

He stood up and made his way to the fire place before he paused.

"I guess it's a good thing we locked our Floo Connection so that only Potter Manor is able to connect after the ritual. Saves us some worries now."

"Hmmm...hey James?" Sirius asked, making him turn around.

"Yeah?"

"Could you see if mum has some of those nice watermelons lying around? And maybe an apple?" Sirius bit his lip as he looked at him hopefully.

James let out a snort at his hopeful expression. "Wow, your first craving is watermelon and apples? I had really thought you'd want tons of chocolate like Lily did."

"No...I just want those, and maybe some strawberries or cherries if she happens to have them."

"I'm sure that with mum's garden that won't be much of a problem. I'll just take a bag full of different kinds of fruit with me and you can choose what you want. Anything else?"

"A bar of white chocolate," Sirius replied immediately, making both Lily and James frown.

"You hate white chocolate," James commented.

"It's not for me but for you and Lily," Sirius grinned shamelessly.

"So we don't get any fruit?" James teased as he picked up the Floo Powder.

"Only if you bring enough," was the reply shot back and laughing James threw a handful into the fire before stepping into the green fires and disappearing to Potter Manor.


	5. Chapter 5 - Thirteen Weeks

A Godfather´s Duty : Chapter 5

Warnings: see chapter 1

Chapter 5 - Thirteen weeks.

"What is that smell?" Lily wrinkled her nose as she entered the kitchen early in the morning to find James and Sirius already there.

"Morning and that´s burned porridge," Sirius answered her before he took a bite from his cereal.

"Sorry morning. You burned something?" Lily asked in disbelief as she took a place at the table and accepted the bowl Sirius filled and handed her.

"No, I wanted porridge so James decided to make it."

"I don't know where I went wrong," James pouted.

"Stirring usually works," Lily suggested with a smile. Her husband's incapability to cook was almost as legendary as Sirius´ skills were.

"For him it didn't. He managed to set the entire pan on fire. It took me two hours to get rid of the stain the flame left on the ceiling. I didn't manage to save your pan though," Sirius glanced at the garbage bag and Lily followed his gaze before starting to rise to see the fate of her pan.

"Don't, it will make you sad," Sirius stopped her with an expression that wouldn't be out of place on a funeral.

"That bad?" she asked as she sat down again.

"You don't want to know, he actually cried," James bit his lip as he looked at them apologetic.

"You cried over a pan?" Lily asked surprised.

"The poor pan hadn't done anything wrong but to end up in the hands of your husband. It is a cruel ending for a trusty pan," Sirius glared at James who did his uttermost best to keep his expression pulled into one of sorrow and regret though his eyes twinkled in amusement.

Lily felt her mouth twitch in response but managed to keep a straight face as she softly patted Sirius' arm.

"We'll make him buy a new one," she promised him with what she hoped was a comforting smile.

Sirius shot her a glare.

"It's not actually about the pan...I don't care about the pan. I cried because I am emotional and because I wanted porridge and now I couldn't have it because your damn husband slaughtered the pan. So I'm stuck having cereal I don't even like."

"Well...we've always known he isn't much of a cook," Lily tried to defend her husband while not bursting into laughter.

"It is porridge out of a bottle! You dump it into a pan, heat it and it's done. How the bloody hell do you ruin that?" Sirius asked as he looked at her incredulously.

"James can't even boil an egg. I think your expectations of him are too high."

"I am sitting right here you know?" James said in mock annoyance.

"What? Can't handle the truth? Peter's better at cooking then you are and he usually sets the kitchen on fire twice a week." Sirius shot at him.

"Okay...okay, I never claimed to be a master chef. But I did leave a note for Tiffy if she'd pick up some more bottles of porridge."

Lily frowned. "Why didn't you ask her immediately to get some new porridge?"

"I wasn't about to deny her some much needed sleep only because her master is a complete disaster in the kitchen," Sirius answered her.

"Didn't we already go over..." James sighed but was interrupted by two things happening.

First was a loud crack to indicate the arrival of Tiffy.

The second was Sirius dropping his bowl of cereal as he gave out a pained scream before abruptly tipping his chair over and falling to the side.

Without a moment's hesitation James shot out of his own chair and caught Sirius' falling form before he could truly fall and hurt himself. Upon hitting the ground he immediately turned their bodies over so that Sirius wouldn't get burned by the hot milk from the bowl coming down after them.

"James!" Lily exclaimed shocked as she seemed to react minutes after it had happened, though it was probably only seconds after his refined Quidditch skills kicked in.

"Tiffy, get mum!" James ordered, ignoring Lily for the moment as he carefully lowered Sirius' unresponsive body from his protective hold onto the ground, holding his head steady.

The House Elf immediately left with a loud crack again, her eyes wide in shock at what had happened.

"He's unconscious," James said unnecessary as Lily pushed the table and chairs to the side to get more space.

Another loud crack sounded and his mother didn't waste a moment of time upon arriving as she knelt down beside him onto the floor immediately.

"James, what happened?"

"I don't know, Tiffy arrived and he just collapsed. He screamed like he was in pain," James answered her as he shifted to the side without ever letting go of Sirius.

"He collapsed when Tiffy arrived?" Dorea asked surprised as she waved her wand over Sirius' body before looking at the readings.

"That's impossible...move him onto a bed," she ordered.

Carefully but urgently James lifted Sirius into his arms and Lily ran out before them to open the doors.

"What's impossible?" James asked as he lowered Sirius onto the bed.

"Every muscle in his body is cramping up incredibly. I...," Dorea frowned as she waved her wand over his body once more.

"Turn on the light," she ordered and Lily quickly waved her wand to do so.

"Wait!" Dorea called out and Lily froze.

"What?" she asked.

"Your magic...his muscles cramped even more when you used your magic. Did you use magic when he collapsed?"

"No..." Lily hesitated as she tried to recall what she had been doing.

"You said it happened when Tiffy arrived?" Dorea asked as she looked at James.

"Yeah, at the same time I think. We heard the usual crack and then he just collapsed. Do you know what's wrong?"

"I think he's having a bad reaction to magic," Dorea answered.

"But we use magic all the time," Lily frowned, but James looked at her with a frown of his own.

"Do we? Outside casting the Fidelius Charm two weeks ago I haven't used any magic and I can't remember you using any either."

"Why not?" Dorea asked as she turned to James.

"Sirius can't use magic so I try not to use any magic around him either as to not accidentally tempt him," James explained with a shrug.

"I guess you are right, I hadn't noticed but now that I think about it I haven't really been using magic either. Do you really think this was caused by magic?" Lily asked worriedly.

Dorea waved her wand over Sirius' body one more time.

"I think so. One way to truly test it...James?"

James fumbled around for his wand before he hesitated.

"Won't I hurt him more if it's truly the cause?"

"Use a simple spell just in case," Dorea advised as she monitored Sirius' reaction when James levitated a pen up into the air.

"Stop. It is indeed magic that's causing him harm." Dorea felt Sirius' forehead. "He's burning up. James, help me get his upper clothing off."

"Will he be all right?" James asked as he unbuttoned Sirius' shirt and pulled it off.

"He didn't have problems when you cast the Fidelius Charm?" Dorea asked, not answering his question.

"He said he had a headache some time later but nothing else," James answered as he finished pulling the last piece of clothing off, leaving Sirius only in his underwear.

"Maybe the reaction depends on what magic is used. His body doesn't react to any of the magic I am using right now, but he did react when either of you used a spell just now."

Dorea frowned as she let her wand move over his body, passing over his arms and legs slowly.

"What about the baby?" Lily suddenly asked as Dorea's wand travelled over his abdomen.

Dorea stiffened for a moment before she moved her wand in a different matter over his belly.

Reading the results she sighed in relief.

"There is a lot of magic swirling around the womb, more than usual. It seems that Sirius unconsciously protected the foetus when his muscles got fried."

Lily and James both let out a relieved breath as James softly caressed Sirius' hair out of his face.

"What can we do for him?"

Dorea sat down on the bed, too.

"We can try to cool them down a bit with ice so that his muscles might relax. Normally I'd advise you to massage them but because he is unconscious I don't recommend it."

'I'll get some ice patches," Lily hurried out of the bedroom.

"Will he be all right?" James asked again.

"Maybe we could cover him up a bit so he won't get cold with the ice," Dorea said as she avoided his gaze.

"Mum...will he be all right?" James grabbed his mother's arm and forced her to look at him.

Dorea looked him into the eye for a long moment before she sighed.

"I don't know, honey. If I didn't know better I'd say he's been put under the Cruciatus Curse repeatedly," Lily almost dropped the ice she was holding when she entered the bedroom to those words again.

"The Cruciatus?" James swallowed as he looked down at Sirius.

"I have seen the same symptoms in Cruciatus victims, yes. But more importantly his muscles are in the same condition as they were on that Christmas Eve."

Lily swallowed thickly as mother and son looked at each other.

James and Sirius had never told anyone exactly what had happened the Christmas Sirius ran away, not even Remus and Peter. Though she was sure they had realised it hadn't been pretty from the extent of Sirius' injuries at the time.

Injuries she had never even known about until after she had gotten engaged to James.

Like everyone else at Hogwarts she had heard the story that Sirius had clashed with his parents over their different views and had left in anger.

Walburga's visit to Hogwarts some time later had made sure everyone knew about his leaving. But no one had ever even suspected he had been hurt on the occasion.

Lily only began to suspect there was more to the story after learning about his constant nightmares. And eventually she had seen most of the scars littering his body by accident.

But even so she had never been able to bring herself to ask, and now she realised just how bad things must have been.

"He couldn't move for days back then," James whispered as he took a hold of Sirius' hand and bit his lip.

"I think you should prepare yourself that he might not wake up for several days this time," Dorea sighed as James looked alarmed. "Sirius' spirit is strong, but his body has been through a lot of damage in his twenty years so it doesn't heal quite as fast as yours would. We can only wait and see what happens."

She placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him slightly before turning to Lily to accept the ice packs she was holding and placed them against various parts of his body before pulling the blanket over him.

"There is nothing more I can do for now, once those are warm remove them and you can try to reapply new ones after twelve hours. Make sure to keep his lips hydrated though."

Lily nodded. "I'll call you if something changes, thank you."

Dorea nodded, not smiling as she stood up and gave Lily a pat on the arm.

"Mum...here; take this so that we can contact you if something changes. I don't want to call Tiffy in case it will hurt him even more," James said as he pulled a mirror out of Sirius' nightstand and handed it to her.

"Smart idea. I'll make sure I keep it on me at all times," Dorea promised as she recognised the mirror for what it was and pocketed it before she hugged him.

"Try not to worry, Sirius is strong, knowing him he'll be fine again in a few days," she caressed James' cheek for a moment as he nodded before moving back to the bed.

"Look after them both, love," she said to Lily as she pulled her into a hug, too.

"I will," Lily whispered before Dorea left again and she turned to look at the bed.

James had curled up beside Sirius on the bed, his arms wrapped around his best friend's waist loosely so he would not hurt him and his forehead was resting against Sirius' shoulder.

Lily shifted slightly, knowing there was nothing she could do to lighten his distress. Nothing she said or did right now would make him feel better until his best friend, his brother, opened his eyes again.

She stood there for several long moments before she decided to pull a chair to the bed and sat down in it, taking Sirius' free hand in her own and watched over the two of them in silence.

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A/N: Because I probably won't be able to update before next week I've decided to add the newest chapter early. Hope you enjoyed it and remember, reviews are always loved.


	6. Chapter 6 - Twenty weeks

A Godfather´s Duty : Chapter 6

Warnings: see chapter 1

Chapter 6 – 20 weeks

"Pssst Lily."

"Hmmmm."

"Mummy? Wakey wakey."

"Go away," Lily murmured as she pulled the blankets up higher, getting a soft chuckle in return as she swatted at the voice.

"Ah, but then your breakfast will get cold," came the cheeky reply.

"Breakfast?" blearily Lily opened her eyes enough to peek out from underneath the blankets.

"In bed?" she continued curiously as she spotted a tray on the nightstand.

"Yup, so sit up so that I can serve it to you."

"I'm not exactly dressed," Lily protested as she became more aware of her surroundings.

"Not even a nightshirt?" Although she couldn't see him she just knew he was grinning at her.

"I'm wearing panties?" she couldn't help but grin back at him, not the least bit uncomfortable at the topic.

"... Here," his dark form disappeared from her limited view for a few moments before he dropped a piece of clothing into her awaiting hands.

"That isn't mine," she laughed as she identified the shirt he had given her.

"Who cares?"

"James might?"

"Oh please, I'm always wearing his clothing so you as his wife certainly are entitled to wear his clothing now and then," Sirius shot at her bemused as he turned his back to her so that she could slip into the shirt before sitting up.

"How come you are serving breakfast in bed?" she asked as she eyed the tray again.

"It is Mother's Day and James is passed out on the couch so I thought I'd serve it to you instead."

"Mother's day? But the baby isn't born yet."

"So? Doesn't mean that you aren't a mother yet," Sirius shrugged before he picked up the tray and placed it on her lap.

"You know...technically you are a mother too, you know?" Lily teased him as she looked at the display of food before glancing at him with twinkling eyes.

Sirius stared at her speechless for a long moment before he managed to recover.

"Well...I guess I will just have to steal a piece of toast from you then," he finally said and Lily laughed.

"Hmm... and crawl in beside me or it is not a true breakfast in bed," she answered as she pulled back the sheets on the other side of the bed, inviting him in.

"I'm not going to say no to that. It's rather cold out here," Sirius grinned as he moved around the bed and crawled in beside her with some difficulties.

"Soon you won't be able to get into bed anymore," Lily told him with a glance at his swollen abdomen.

"James already lowered my bed last night when he noticed I couldn't get inside effortless anymore," Sirius admitted as he tucked the blankets around him.

"He's truly taking his orders very seriously."

"Pretty much, yeah. I only have to think about something and he's already arranging for me to get it. I have to admit it is rather endearing."

Lily laughed. "Hard to get mad when he's so enthusiastic, huh?"

"Not mad, just drives me crazy sometimes," he paused before a small smile spread over his lips. "But I much rather have him behave like this than that he wouldn't care."

"True. And his doting on you tells me he will make a fantastic father."

"Oh he will. You both will. This baby will be lucky with such loving parents."

"And with such an amazing godfather," Lily added as she smiled at him.

Sirius hesitated before he looked at his hands.

"Do you really think I'd be a good godfather? Cause you know...it is not too late to change to someone more capable like Remus."

Lily stared at him for a long moment flabbergasted before she realised he was actually serious. She picked up the half eaten tray from her lap and placed it back onto the nightstand before she turned to face him.

"Do you truly still doubt yourself? Despite all that you have already done?" she asked.

Sirius glanced at her for a brief moment before he looked back to his hands.

"I know next to nothing about children. The only child I know is Andromeda's and I only truly saw Dora a handful of times. What if I drop the baby when you let me hold him or I don't know what to do and accidentally hurt him?" He rambled, his voice lowering more and more until it was barely above a whisper.

Lily sighed with a fond smile.

"You won't drop the baby. If anything you will wrap him up in bubble wrap in your attempt to keep him safe."

Sirius let out a choked laugh, his lower lip trembling slightly.

"I'm being ridiculous aren't I?"

"No, just hormonal. It is rather adorable to be honest and quite frankly you aren't half as bad as the books claim pregnant people are."

"Those pregnant people don't have you guys at their side. I'm pretty content most of the time," he frowned. "Except for the times when I feel like a cat that just ate a bowl of milk. Then I am just plainly terrified of myself."

Lily laughed before she snuck an arm around his shoulder.

"Come here."

Sirius leaned against her for a long moment before he sighed.

"That's not very comfortable."

He shifted so that he was more comfortable as he leaned his head against her shoulder.

"Have you slept?" Lily asked as she could clearly see the tiredness in his eyes. She glanced at the clock to see it was close to six in the morning and suddenly wondered if he had slept at all.

She felt Sirius shrug. "A bit."

Lily sighed. "Lay down."

"What?" Sirius looked at her confused.

"Lay down with your head resting on my lap," Lily ordered.

Sirius gave her a bemused look before he complied and did as she had told him to do, curling slightly up against her legs while facing away from her.

"Now, I want you to try and relax," she spoke softly before she started to brush her index finger over his right eyebrow slowly, starting at his eye and moving outward.

Sirius stiffened at her action.

"Shhh, just close your eyes and relax," she ordered, smiling when she felt him try to relax.

"My mother used to do this any time I couldn't sleep and it always helped."

"It is rather nice," Sirius admitted softly, his voice tired and soft as he yawned and relaxed completely against her.

Lily only smiled, knowing that if she kept silent he would fall asleep in no time.

She was proven right when his breathing evened out fairly quickly and her smile widened slightly as she looked at his relaxed form.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"He's finally asleep?" She opened her eyes startled, realising that she had dozed off.

"Hey...yeah," she replied softly as she yawned before she glanced at the clock.

"Is it already that late?" she asked as she realised almost six hours had passed and it was close to noon.

"Hmm, I thought I'd let you both sleep. He hasn't really slept well last night."

"He mentioned it, though he didn't say why."

"First another nightmare woke him, then he threw up and finally stomach aches kept him awake. It was horrible."

James moved into the bedroom and sat on the bed edge.

"Has he managed to eat anything?" he asked even softer as he noticed the tray.

"A bit of toast and a sip from my tea. He looked so tired I was more concerned with getting him to sleep than to have him eat."

She glanced at Sirius before looking back to James. "Do you think it will help if I made some soup?"

"It might. If it is light enough there is a chance it might stay in."

"I'll make some chicken soup then," Lily decided before she and James carefully switched places.

"Shhh, it's all right, just sleep some more," Lily whispered as Sirius shifted when James moved his head onto his legs and wrapped an arm around his waist loosely.

"Brush your finger over his eyebrow."

James followed her advice with his free hand and Sirius settled again.

"I'd forgotten that trick. Mum used it to try and soot me whenever I felt sick."

"Mine too, but Sirius wasn't familiar with it."

"His parents would never have used a loving gesture like that on him," James' tone held an angry note to it, though he managed to keep it low enough not to wake his friend.

"I know, we'll just have to show him all the love we can now to make up for his lousy relatives," Lily said determinedly before she glanced at Sirius' sleeping form.

"What was the nightmare about this time?"

"Him failing to keep the baby safe. He dreamed that Voldemort showed up and that he was unable to stop the bastard from hurting the baby. He has been having that nightmare a lot." James answered softly as he caressed Sirius' hair a bit.

"I had hoped that he would skip that phase of the pregnancy," Lily sighed.

"Not likely. He´s been having nightmares for as long as I have known him. Life wouldn't be fair to him and give him a break just because of this," James sighed too before he looked down at his best friend again.

"I just wish I could do something to ..." he trailed off as he frowned and shifted his attention to his arm.

Suddenly his eyes widened in shock as Sirius shifted underneath his arm a bit.

"Oh...OH! Siri...Sirius, wake up," he shook him lightly with his free hand.

"James?" Sirius asked tiredly before he yawned and shifted so that he was lying on his back.

"You know those stomach aches you've been having, Siri?"

"Yeah?"

"Those aren't stomach aches," James laughed suddenly.

"What?" Sirius and Lily both looked at him confused.

"That's the baby kicking...I felt him move just now."

Both Sirius and Lily stared at him for a long moment as his words got through to them before Sirius looked down and Lily sat back down on the bed immediately.

"Can I?" she hesitated as she reached her hand out but Sirius pulled his nightshirt up immediately with a nod.

All three of them placed a hand on his bare abdomen.

"I don't feel anything," Lily said softly after several moments had passed.

"Just wait...I know what I felt," James looked down at his hand in concentration.

They all waited in silence for another few moments before they all felt it.

"That...wow...that's..." Lily exclaimed excitedly as she felt light taps against her palm.

"Amazing, but...does that mean he's been kicking for hours already?" Sirius asked confused once the tapping stopped completely again.

"I think so...I only noticed because my arm was around your waist when he kicked."

"His first kicks..." Lily looked at his abdomen in awe as she carefully rubbed her thumb over the skin in a caressing movement despite the baby having settled again.

"If I had realised it before I would have called you immediately," Sirius apologised as he looked at her.

Lily shrugged. "I'm actually surprised we can already feel him. The books said that you would probably be able to feel the baby between week twenty and twenty-two, long before we would be able to feel him."

Sirius bit his lip as he sat up, letting his shirt fall down again. "I know...but I wanted to let you know the moment I'd first feel him and I failed."

His voice was regretful and his expression so sad that Lily couldn't help but to lean forward and pull him into a hug.

"Thank you," she whispered into his ear as he returned it and tears filled her eyes. He had included her into every little thing that had happened so far. Every change, no matter how small, he had told her about. Every phase he had included her in so that she was a part of this as much as she could be.

He didn't want her to feel left out and it had helped her enormously at the moments she missed her baby the most. To know he was still there and she hadn't lost him at all. That just because she herself wasn't pregnant anymore didn't mean she wouldn't be a mother.

Every little thing Sirius did, like breakfast on bed today because it was Mother's Day, made her feel happier than anything. He was just so sweet and thoughtful to her all the time.

Despite what his own feelings must be about all this, he always put her feelings before his own. And she would never truly be able to thank him for that. She would never be able to show him how much she appreciated what he was doing for her.

A growling sound made her pull back surprised while Sirius laughed.

"Sorry, I'm a bit hungry."

"I suppose we should feed you something then," she laughed too as she ruffled his hair.

"What is it with you two and treating me like a puppy? He asked as he swatted at her hand playfully.

"But Padfoot...you are a dog," Lily laughed.

"Am I now?" he poked her into the side, making Lily yelp in surprise before Sirius pulled her down onto the bed and started to tickle her merciless while James hurriedly got out of the way.

Lily squealed as she tried to wiggle out from under his tickling fingers.

"I give in...I give in!" she eventually managed to get out breathlessly and Sirius leaned over her, his eyes twinkling in laugher.

"Are you going to feed me before I bite then?" he asked before he leaned down and pressed his cold nose against hers for a moment, making her laugh again.

"All right, I'll feed you," she pushed him away lightly and he sat back onto his knees as he laughed, too.

"Is there any chance I'll be fed, too?" James asked teasingly as he looked at the two from his safe spot at the wall.

Lily gave him a calculating look. "That depends on what you have to offer for that food."

"A kiss?" James offered immediately.

"That's not really an offering for me though," Sirius pouted as Lily laughed.

"I could give you a kiss, too," James grinned as he moved towards them.

Sirius snorted. "Not good enough."

"All right, then what would you want as an offering?" James asked as he sat back down onto the bed and wrapped his arms around Sirius from behind.

Sirius automatically leaned back against him as he looked thoughtful.

"I guess this will have to do as I can't think of anything else," he decided eventually.

"No cravings?" Lily asked.

"Hmmmm, not really no." Sirius shook his head lightly before he yawned.

"I'll make some soup then," she said as she moved from the bed.

"I'll help," Sirius said immediately as he moved out of James' hold and slid off the bed.

"Aren't the two of you forgetting something?" James asked with a chuckle.

"Like what?" Lily asked as she turned to him.

"Putting on some clothes? You are both rather underdressed," James answered cheekily. "If fact, if you two had been anyone else I'd have been worried over your intentions with each other."

Lily and Sirius glanced at each other's clothing to realise they were both only dressed in their underwear and a long shirt belonging to James.

Sirius grinned. "It truly is a nice shirt on you."

Lily maturely stuck out her tongue at him before she moved to the closet to grab some proper clothes and tossed a pair of pants at Sirius.

"Soon James' clothes won't fit me anymore either," he complained as he slipped into the pair of pants and took off the belt because he didn't need it anymore.

"Dad gave me some robes of his that you can wear once my clothes don't fit you anymore. And else if you prefer to keep wearing Muggle clothes I could always ask Tiffy to pick something up for you."

"It would be kind of a waste of money to buy new clothes for a temporary situation wouldn't it be?" Sirius asked.

"Not if it makes you feel more comfortable. You hate robes and you should dress as comfortable as you can right now," Lily answered as she had dressed in the meantime, too.

"And after the baby is born we could always donate the clothes to charity or so," she continued.

"I don't want to be a bother," Sirius sighed.

"You're not a bother. Though it might be wiser to get pants made especially for pregnant women. It might be a bit undignified but if you have to buy pants that fit your belly properly, then your pant legs will be enormous. Especially since outside the pregnant belly you are skinny as hell," James said as he looked at his form. "And it's not like anyone outside us and mum and dad will see you."

"I don't feel skinny," Sirius laughed before he shrugged. "Now is not the time to be worried about appearances so maternity pants would be a wise idea. Though if you could ask Tiffy to get a neutral colour I'd be grateful."

"And if they are a bit girly we could always transfigure them a bit," Lily said.

"Mum said a bit of our magic probably wouldn't hurt, but do we really want to take the chance after what happened last time?" James asked and Lily and Sirius both winced as they remembered last time.

"To be fair...that wasn't truly Tiffy's fault." Sirius immediately defended the Potter's oldest House Elf.

"It wasn't. There was no way any of us could have predicted you would react so violently to magic. You have no problem with mum using magic for the magical ultrasounds so there was no indication magic would hurt you like Tiffy's did," James reassured him he wasn't blaming the House Elf.

"I still wonder why that is though. We can't use any magic even when you are on the other side of the house or you'll at least get a severe headache, but James' mother's magic doesn't hurt you at all," Lily frowned.

"I don't know. I'm not about to experiment with it to find out though. One round of passing out for three days before waking up with every muscle in my body on fire is enough for me if you don't mind."

"Yeah...let's just ask Tiffy to buy neutral colours," James winced as he remembered how terrified he had been when Sirius had suddenly collapsed in the middle of the kitchen upon the arrival of the old trusty house-elf.

Even now, two months later he could still feel cold sweat run down his spine at the memory of his best friend, his brother, collapsing like that without a warning.

He shook his head to pull himself out of his thoughts before sliding off the bed and moving over to Lily and Sirius.

"I'll ask Tiffy if she'll pick up the clothes while you guys make soup. Anything else you'd want her to pick up?"

"Not right now. Right now I just want soup," Sirius answered.

"Let's make you some soup then," Lily smiled before she and Sirius walked to the kitchen and James left to the garden so that he could contact Tiffy without causing Sirius discomfort.


	7. Chapter 7 - Thirty one Weeks

Warnings: see chapter 1

Chapter 7 – 31 weeks

Lily peeked around the corner of the living room at the sound of voices to see James and Sirius sitting on the couch.

James had a book open in one hand while his other was massaging Sirius' left leg as Sirius sat with his legs over James' lap, his head resting against James' shoulder.

"What about Carl then?"

"Really James?" Sirius raised an eyebrow as he picked up another spoonful of ice cream from the bowl resting on his lap.

"Hey, what are you guys doing up so late? It's almost three in the morning," she greeted them as she walked inside.

"Hey, did we wake you?" Sirius looked up to greet her while James groaned and picked up a pillow to hide his face in, dropping the book onto Sirius' legs.

"No you didn't. What's up with him?" Lily laughed as she sat down in the chair across from them.

"He's having trouble coming up with a list of decent names," Sirius said.

"Don't tell her that!" James exclaimed horrified as he swatted at Sirius' knee.

Sirius laughed as he shifted out of his reach. "Why not? The sooner you admit you really haven't the foggiest on a good name, the sooner we can peek at her list."

"That bad huh?" Lily chuckled.

"What's on your list then?" James asked, removing the book from Sirius´ legs and putting it onto the side table as he returned to massaging Sirius' leg and Sirius leaned back against him again.

"Erm...Are your legs hurting you again?" Lily asked with a small smile as she changed the subject.

"Yeah, I was just going to walk around a little when I found him trying to drown himself in the shower."

"Siri!"

"Why was he drowning himself in the shower in the middle of the night?" Lily asked confused.

"Why are you up in the middle of the night?" James shot back.

"I was thirsty and you were gone," Lily revealed as she showed them her glass of water to prove her story. "But you are avoiding my question."

"All right...I can't think of any names. I couldn't sleep because I couldn't think of anything and went to take a shower that I was most definitely not drowning myself under when Sirius walked in."

"He screamed like a little girl," Sirius grinned.

"Well...what if it had been Lily who had been in the shower?" James protested.

"Then I'd have said sorry before handing her a towel, too," Sirius shrugged indifferently.

Lily laughed."It wouldn't be the first time we walked in on each other showering."

"Should I be getting jealous?" James teasingly gave them both a mock suspicious glance.

"Very," Lily stuck out her tongue at him before she moved to sit onto the table and stole Sirius' spoon from him.

"Oi," Sirius protested as she dipped it into the bowl before taking a bite.

"Hmmm chocolate."

Sirius pouted.

"Here, we'll share my spoon," James handed him his own spoon and Sirius grinned before dipping it into the bowl again.

"So...how far along is your list?" James asked as he looked at his wife.

"Pretty much...none-existing?" Lily winced apologetic.

"You can't think of a name either?" hopeful he smiled at her.

"I've gone through the entire book and though there were many nice names none seemed right. I want him to have a special name that means something to us."

"Such as?" Sirius asked as he fed James a spoonful of ice cream before passing the bowl to Lily so she could finish the last bit.

"I don't know. I was thinking of naming him after one of our relatives but nothing seems to fit," Lily sighed as she took the last few bites and placed it beside her on the table.

"I knew what your parents were called, but I have no idea what your grandparents´ names were," Sirius said.

"Mary and Frank from mum's side and from dad's side Marc and Lynette."

"Was there one who you loved most of all?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, Grandmother Mary. She was always so sweet to me," Lily smiled.

"Hmmmm...And James adored Grandpa Harold the most. Mary and Harold...Har...old and Ma...ry...what do you think of Harry?" Sirius suddenly asked.

"Harry? ...Harry...you know...I rather like it," James tested the name on his lips before he looked questioningly to Lily to see what she thought of it.

"Yeah...I like it, too," Lily decided with a nod. "The name has special meaning because we'd name him after people we both loved deeply."

"Yeah... Harry," James smiled as he rested his hand onto Sirius' abdomen.

"Baby Harry, huh?" Sirius asked as he looked down at his swollen belly, too. "Hello Harry."

Lily smiled as she knelt down onto the ground before them and placed her hand on his abdomen as well.

"Our little Harry," she smiled.

"Are you going to follow the Potter tradition?" Sirius asked as he shifted slightly in his position to lean more comfortable against James before he yawned.

"What tradition?" Lily asked as she softly caressed the hair out of his eyes with a smile.

"Of giving the child the middle name of the father when it's a boy. James' middle name is Charlus and dad's middle name is Harold and so on and on," Sirius answered her lazily as he leaned into her touch slightly.

"Harry James Potter... it has a nice ring to it doesn't it?" Lily smiled as she looked up to James.

"It does," James agreed as he wrapped an arm around Sirius' shoulder. "I think it is time we got you back to bed now that you are finally sleepy again."

"But I'm comfy," Sirius protested as he snuggled closer. "And you are warm."

James smiled. "All right, then you just stay right where you are," he pulled him slightly closer and picked up on softly rubbing his legs again.

Lily smiled as she softly caressed his cheek for a moment. "Do you want a blanket?"

"No I'm good. I do feel like I'm being awfully cuddly though," he frowned but did not move away from his position as James laughed.

"Not so much more than usual," Lily reassured him.

"Lily's right, you are the same as usual. I can't even remember how many times I walked in to find you curled up beside mum or dad while reading. Or have fallen asleep against Lily while watching television," James smiled.

"And you and James are always touching anyway. You touch me and Remus a lot too, actually. A brushing of hands here, a touching of arms there...it's not exactly new," Lily said.

Sirius looked at her surprised. "Really? I've never noticed."

"Probably because it comes naturally to you and besides, James is the same. You are both rather tactile with people you trust and care about," Lily paused before she corrected herself. "You are both rather tactile to the people you are close to. You hardly ever touch Peter, but you are constantly touching each other in some way."

"I wasn't really aware of that either," James admitted as he looked down at his arm around Sirius but made no move to pull back either.

"It doesn't really matter. Your parents are actually equally tactile with the two of you. It is very endearing to see," Lily smiled again.

"So I don't make you feel uncomfortable?" Sirius asked.

"Never...besides, I don't see you complaining that I'm touching you either," Lily laughed.

Sirius blinked at her confused before he glanced down to see she had indeed placed her hand on his arm and was rubbing it softly.

"I hadn't even noticed," he admitted with a tired chuckle.

"I know. And your actions make me rather tactile too. Remus too. On his own I've never seen him touch anyone, yet when he is with either of you he's much more tactile, too."

"We bring the worst out of the two of you," James grinned.

"If that's the worst you guys do then bring it on, 'Lily challenged them with a grin of her own.

Sirius stuck out his tongue to her before he shifted again with another yawn.

"Go to sleep Siri. You need it," Lily said softly and he nodded, shifting slightly to curl up a bit more.

James and Lily shared a fond smile with each other but kept silent so they wouldn't keep him awake.

Lily wasn't sure how much time had passed but eventually James shifted and carefully lifted Sirius up into his arms as he rose.

"Are you bringing him to bed?" she asked in a whisper.

"Yeah, I plan to stay with him though," James whispered back.

"Nightmares again?" she asked and James nodded.

"About the baby?"

"Some, but judging from how he stays even closer than usual I think the latest was about me."

"About you?" Lily asked with a frown.

James sighed. "Ever since I got bashed up pretty badly at Quidditch in fourth year he occasionally has dreams in which something happens to me."

He gave her a wry smile. "I've had the same nightmares after Christmas of Sixth year and still do occasionally."

Lily nodded as James carefully laid Sirius in the bed and Lily tucked in him before they both walked to the door.

"James?" she asked as she moved outside.

"Yeah?"

She looked at him. "What happened that Christmas? I mean...clearly more happened than the whole he had enough and left story. Was it really that bad?"

James hesitated as he glanced back into the room before biting his lip.

"It is not my place to tell you," he finally decided.

Lily nodded. "I know...it's just...it was bad wasn't it? Your mum said when he collapsed due to Tiffy's magic that his muscles looked like he'd been put under the Cruciatus Curse...they looked like they did that Christmas. And I accept that it is something you won't tell me without his permission...but it was bad, wasn't it?"

James sighed. "It was. I was the one who noticed him stumbling up our lane first and the one who caught him when he collapsed," James swallowed. "I thought he was dying right there in my arms."

"And his parents were responsible." It wasn't really a question she was asking and they both knew it so James simply nodded.

Lily took a deep breath. She had already known it but somehow the confirmation still made cold sweat run down her spine. She nodded while blinking away tears, not allowing them to fall.

"I won't...we'll never raise a hand at our child right?" Lily asked, suddenly unsure of herself. "We'll be good parents...loving ones...right?"

James pulled her into his arms and kissed her hair. "We will be. We will never, ever raise a hand to hurt our child, ever. No matter how mischievous he might be we will never use violence to reprimand him."

His voice was so determined and sure that Lily nodded.

"We're not like them..." she whispered before she glanced at the door. The irresistible urge to stay close to him and protect him from the outside world filled her and she couldn't help but ask; "Do...do you think he'll mind if I stay with him tonight, too. I would feel better if I could just be close to him right now."

James smiled softly as he understood her motive. He took her hand and pulled her back into the room, closing the door carefully behind him.

He kicked off his slippers and shrugged out of his dressing gown before crawling in beside Sirius and shuffling closer to him on his back.

Sirius shifted almost immediately, wrapping an arm around James' waist and resting his head against his shoulder without waking.

Lily smiled at how comfortable he was with her husband to not even wake up when James crawled into bed beside him.

Alice had once asked her if she never felt any jealously at the way James and Sirius interacted, how they behaved around one another. But she never had.

Even if their strong bond had baffled her originally, it had never made her feel uncomfortable. And over time, as she had slowly begun to understand their connection, she had come to love and appreciate it. She couldn't even imagine them to be any different, nor did she want them to be.

She might occasionally joke that by marrying James she had gotten a double deal, but she would never want it to be any other way.

She slipped into bed at the other side before shuffling closer herself so that she could rest her forehead between Sirius' shoulder blades.

She wrapped her hand loosely into the fabric of his nightshirt before closing her eyes.

Listening to his quiet breathing she let it lull her into sleep slowly as his close presence soothed her.

A/N: No offence meant to anyone named Carl.


	8. Chapter 8 - Thirty five Weeks

Disclaimer and warnings: see chapter 1

Chapter 8 – 35 weeks

Lily leaned back from her work in the garden when her ears caught the sound of a metallic bell. Curious to what the sound was she stood up and cleared her gloves away.

Entering the house she removed her shoes at the doorway and entered the living room through the kitchen to find Sirius stretched out on the couch, reading a magazine.

His free hand was playing with a small multicoloured ball hanging on a string around his neck, making it tingle as it moved.

"What is that?" she asked as she walked to him.

He glanced up at her questioningly before looking down at the necklace when he noticed what she meant.

"I don't know. Dad dropped it off with the groceries, saying the baby would like it. Though If I'm honest I like it very much too."

"May I?"

"Sure," Sirius lifted the string over his head and handed it to her as she sat down on the table to looked at it, moving the multi coloured ball around in her fingers.

"It's pretty isn't it?" Sirius smiled as he looked at it too.

"It is. But I have no idea what it is. It looks to be of Muggle origin. But I can't remember to have ever seen it before."

"Maybe James knows," Lily handed it back to him and Sirius returned it to his neck.

"Where is he anyway?"

"He's cleaning the bathroom. When the baby refused to settle down he surprised me with a bath. But when I wanted to clean up he chased me out, saying to rest while I can."

Lily laughed. "Better not get in his way of taking care of you. And he is right. You have to take advantage of the times the baby is calm."

"I know. But it's frustrating to be unable to do anything. But I compromised. As long as he doesn't try to cook again I'm willing to let him treat me like a fragile doll."

"You could certainly pass for a doll with your features," Lily laughed.

Sirius glanced up at her confused. "My features?"

Lily chuckled at his confusion. "Yeah, do you even know how many girls and boys drooled at you when they saw you in Hogwarts?"

Sirius shrugged as he looked back at his magazine. "Remus told me about the rumours flying around in seventh year. But I don't know why, I'm hardly anything special to look at."

Lily stared at him for a long moment; he couldn't possibly be that naive about his own appearance.

"Hardly...say, who would you say is attractive?" she suddenly asked, curious to what he'd like in a person.

"In? Looks or personality?" Sirius asked without looking up from his magazine.

"Both," Lily decided after a moment, smiling at his indifference to her sudden chance of subject.

"Of our friends?"

"Sure."

Sirius looked at her thoughtfully for a few moments to try and make up his mind.

"I guess...erm...you, Remus and James."

"You find me attractive?" Lily asked surprised.

"Yeah sure. Pretty eyes, brilliant mind and a kind heart. What's not to like? And you have pretty hair too."

Lily looked at him speechless for a moment before she smiled when she realised he was serious.

"Thanks. So you find Remus and James attractive too?" she continued with a tease and Sirius laughed.

"You said of our friends so yeah. Their personalities lure you right in and make you love them."

"What do you like most about James' features?" Lily asked curious.

"His warm eyes and smile. It doesn't matter how sad or upset I am, when he smiles at me I can't help but want to smile, too," he answered her without missing a beat.

Lily nodded, knowing how her husband's smile could affect people. He had a way of pulling people in just by smiling at them.

"And his hair?" she asked.

"Fits him like it fits every Potter. It's a disaster that defies all logic but suits him. He wouldn't be him without it," Sirius smiled softly.

"And what do you like most about Remus?"

"His light green eyes. I absolutely love his eyes, especially when we've got this mischievous idea and his eyes sparkle with amusement as we explain it to him," he paused as he considered his words. "Unless they are sad then I just want to hug him and try to make him feel better so that his eyes sparkle again."

"And the rest of his features?" Lily asked, smiling at his honesty and understanding his point of view. Remus did really have nice eyes, especially when he was smiling.

Not unlike Sirius himself.

She always loved it when his grey eyes sparkled in amusement or joy. Or when he looked at her with this bemused and fond expression that always made her want to grin like an idiot. But when he looked sad, she always wanted to hold him close to her to take that sadness away from him, too.

"Erm...his smile? I don't know. I don't usually pay that much attention to how other people look. Either I like the person or not. Their appearance has very little to do with it."

Lily nodded. She thought about his words for a moment before a small playful smile crossed her lips.

"So you like me?"

"Are you interrogating me?" Sirius laughed, making Lily blush as she realised she was indeed asking a lot of questions.

"Sorry. I'm just curious to what you'd find attractive if you don't think yourself to be anything special. I don't think I've ever seen you date anyone."

"That's because I haven't. I don't know..." Sirius trailed off; looking down at the ball he was playing with before he sighed.

"I've never been interested in dating. I don't like it when people come close unless I want them to and the only ones I am comfortable letting close are you guys. I'm content as I am right now..." he trailed off again as he glanced down at his belly and Lily suppressed a chuckle.

"I'm content to live with Remus in our little apartment and having the two...three of you in my life. That's all I want," he corrected himself.

"And if Remus someday meets someone?" Lily asked softly. She couldn't really blame him for not wanting to let people in, not with where he came from. But she also didn't want him to end up alone. If anyone deserved love it was Sirius.

"I guess I'll take a second cat then to keep me company and talk you into letting Harry stay over now and then."

"Like you need to ask. We could also drag you over here to keep us company," Lily suggested as she moved from the table to sit on the couch beside him, moving his legs over her lap when he attempted to move into a sitting position.

"Am I not too heavy for you?"

"With your twig-like legs? I'm more worried I'll find sharp edges to cut me on," she laughed as Sirius stuck out his tongue at her.

The magazine he had been reading slid from his legs as he shifted but Lily caught it and frowned as she saw what it was.

"Why are you reading a household magazine?"

"It was within easy reach," Sirius admitted as he yawned theatrically.

"Lazy ass," Lily laughed as she swatted at his arm with the magazine, making Sirius laugh again.

He moved his legs from her lap and shifted so that he was curled up against her side and rested his head against her shoulder.

"You truly are just like a big dog aren't you?" she laughed as she wrapped her hand around his as he leaned against her.

"I can't help it that you are just so comfortable," Sirius defended himself as he snuggled closer.

"Who's comfortable?" James greeted them as he entered the living room with three cups of tea.

"Lily is. Say, could you bring that bag with you if you come over here?" Sirius asked and James nodded, placing the three cups on the table before picking the bag up and placing it on Lily's lap so that Sirius didn't have to shift to look into it.

"Thanks."

'Hmm, did dad drop those off?"

"Yeah, he came over to give me the new vitamins with instructions from mum and left two bags with groceries and some books we might like. He said to say hello. Oh and he left this," Sirius held up the necklace.

"I can't believe they still had that," James laughed as he lifted it into his hand without taking if from Sirius' neck.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

"A pregnancy necklace. Pregnant people wear it because the sound it makes is said to settle restless foetuses. My mum wore it when she was pregnant with me and when I was a baby."

"I never knew something like that existed, why would she give such a treasured item to me?" Sirius asked as he looked at the necklace again.

"Probably because you love things like that and you are carrying a baby right now," James smiled as he let it rest against Sirius' chest again before sitting down next to him.

"How's the little guy doing now?"

"He's finally settled again. Though I'm not sure if it is because of this thing or because he's finally decided I'm bruised enough."

"He certainly has strength," James teased and Lily smiled, remembering when she had first seen Sirius' entire abdomen move. She had been amazed to be able to see small feet and fists appear in his belly as the baby moved around. And although she always looked forward to see it happen, she truly felt sorry for Sirius as she could see how much it hurt him at times.

Sirius shot James a mock glare before picking the books out of the bag and looking through them, settling on one and opening it.

Lily and James both picked a book too and they all sipped their teas while reading in comfortable silence for a while before Sirius closed his book and moved from the couch to stretch.

"I'm getting something to eat, does either of you want something?"

"What do you want, I'll make it," Lily offered as she closed her book and stood up too.

"I want spaghetti but you don't have to get up for me."

"Shush, it's my turn to pamper you," Lily grinned as Sirius rolled his eyes with a smile. "What kind of sauce do you want?"

"Cheese. Lots of cheese...but mostly spaghetti."

"Sounds good to me," James followed them to the kitchen, sitting down on a chair beside Sirius as Lily refused to let either help her.

A few minutes passed in which Sirius shifted a few times, unable to settle as he stared at the pans Lily was working with impatiently, clicking his tongue.

Lily turned at the sound, blinking surprised as she noticed Sirius glaring at the pan.

"Are you that hungry?" she asked with a chuckle.

"I want spaghetti," was his only answer.

"I can see that," James snorted.

"Shush."

"Why is it taking so long?" Sirius asked with a pout after another minute had passed.

Lily chuckled, suddenly recognising his behaviour for what it was and she turned the fire higher.

"Only a few more minutes and you can eat all the spaghetti that you want," she assured him.

Sirius nodded with a sigh, resting his head on his hands.

He sat for another minute before he sighed again, deeper and more annoyed this time.

"Bathroom again?" James asked with an empathic smile.

Sirius answered something back neither could understand as he moved from the kitchen but Lily shook her head fondly anyway.

"Poor guy. He goes to the bathroom more often than you and I go combined."

"Mum said it's normal. Though I feel sorrier for him during the night when he has to get up tons of times after finally settling down. And if he doesn't have to pee then the baby decides to keep him awake."

Lily stirred in the pan.

"I can't believe it's only a few more weeks left. Time sure passes quickly," she noted softly.

"Only a few more weeks before we can finally hold him," James agreed with a smile as he watched her cook.

Sirius returned as Lily was putting the food onto plates and gave out a whoop of delight as he saw the food was done, pulling Lily into a short hug before stealing a plate from her.

He dumped a generous amount of cheese sauce over his spaghetti and dug in.

"Enjoy," Lily laughed, not caring that part of his manners deserted him for the moment. The few times he got a sudden and desperate craving like this she believed he was allowed to forget his manners.

"Cravings are weird," James commented with a laugh as he and Lily dug in, too.

"Can't argue with that," Sirius agreed once he had emptied his plate and added some more. "Not that you need cravings to eat a lot of food."

"An active man needs food," he defended himself.

"Hm... or you just like food," Sirius shot back.

James laughed, not denying it as Lily shook her head fondly again as they continued eating while chatting comfortable.


	9. Chapter 9 - Forty Weeks

Warnings: see chapter 1

Chapter 9: 40 weeks

"Lil…wake up!"

"What?" Lily swatted at James as he roughly shook her.

"Wake up!" his voice was urgent and rough and startled she sat up.

"We need to leave, NOW!"

"James?" Lily tossed the blankets off her and placed her feet on the cold floor.

"Trouble," he only said as he tossed some clothing to her before running out of the room again.

Quickly slipping into them she hurried after him into the living room where Sirius was standing near the fireplace, wand drawn.

"What's going on," she asked as she moved to him, alarmed to see him with a wand while they both knew he couldn't use it.

"Death Eaters," Sirius answered her without taking his eyes off the fireplace. "There's a dozen of them outside too."

"What? How did they find us?" Lily asked horrified.

"I'm not sure if they can see the house or not, but James isn't taking any risks so he wants to move us."

"The Fidelius Charm keeps us safe doesn't it?" Lily asked as she spotted several masked and robed shadows move around outside and drew her own wand.

"It should. We never truly tested it though so James doesn't dare to stay put."

"Why now?"

"Mum passed a message that the Longbottom's were attacked last night, they've moved to a safe location with their baby."

"Alice gave birth already?"

"Yesterday eve apparently, Mum helped with the delivery. Augusta Longbottom warned Mum that their location was breached."

"How did they breach the Fidelius Charm?"

"No idea and we're not waiting to find out. Especially not now," James was the one who answered her as he handed her a bag before moving away again.

"With the birth so close?" Lily asked.

"Yeah. I'm actually hoping he'll wait a little bit longer before wanting to come out," Sirius admitted as he slid his hand over his abdomen unconsciously while keeping his eyes on the fireplace.

Lily followed his movement unconsciously.

His abdomen had swollen considerably, though despite being nine months along it wasn't half as large as she had expected it to be. Dorea had said that it was probably a combination of Sirius being so slender and the baby being small. She had assured them that there was nothing to worry about because he had gained enough weight in the last six months.

She looked back up to him. "It is July 31st today isn't it?"

"Yeah…if he can just wait one more day then everything will be all right and he'll be safe from that prophecy."

"Do you think he'll wait?"

"I praying with all my heart…" he trailed off.

"But?" Lily asked.

"I've been having strong pain in my back at regular intervals for about five hours now," Sirius said as he looked at her.

"Regular in...…so they come and go?" Lily asked, her heart suddenly picking up speed as it got through to her what it meant.

"Yeah. We were actually on our way to come warn you when Mum's message arrived."

"Is that why you are so tense?" Lily asked as she looked at him. She wished he would look at her but his gaze turned to the window instead.

"Do you remember that we discussed the birth and spoke about caesarean sections a few weeks ago?"

"Yes..."

"It might not actually work," Sirius revealed before he called out to James. "They are coming closer."

"What do you mean that might not work," Lily asked alarmed.

"When the pains first started I accidentally blew the lamp in the kitchen apart because the pain took me by surprise. By all means the shards should have hit me...but instead they bounced right of the parts of my stomach not protected by my arms."

"Bounced...they didn't cut you at all?"

"They cut into my arms easily enough but not a single cut there." He finally turned his gaze to her and Lily had to swallow thickly as she saw the badly concealed fear there.

"What does it mean if we can't use a caesarean section?" she asked as she grabbed his arm.

"I don't know Lil. We need to get to Mum, but she warned us Potter Manor might have been breached. Mum and Dad got away safely and James threw shields against the Floo connecting the houses to keep them away in case it is. Mum told us to go somewhere safe and she'd contact us when she could."

"So how will we go to this safe location?" Lily asked wearily.

"James is going to Apparate us."

"But you..."

"Yeah, I'm well aware of that," he cut her off before he turned from the window again as James moved back to them.

"The wards I threw at the Floo aren't going to hold much longer."

"Where will we go? If Sirius is having contractions..."

"It's not..." Sirius started to interrupt her but then tensed and cried out as pain flashed across his handsome features. His breathing stocked and Lily grabbed a hold of him as he almost buckled under the pain.

James was at his side immediately and put an arm around him too, easily holding him upright as Sirius buried his face into his shoulder in an attempt to muffle his gasps as his body trembled.

"We need to find a safe location," James said when Sirius' breathing slowly returned back to normal.

"W-we could go to that cabin where Moony transformed back on our vacation Easter of fifth year," he said as the pain subdued again.

James nodded. "We're the only wizards who know of that spot. I will have to take a detour for safety though. Think you can make it?"

"Do I have another choice?" Sirius smiled wryly. "If I pass out...don't stop. Just keep going untill we get there."

James swallowed before he nodded and looked at Lily while he shifted his arm to Sirius' waist and pulled him close. "Keep your wand at the ready just in case and whatever happens, don't let go of him."

Lily wrapped her hand around Sirius' arm, tightening her fingers in the fabric of his sleeve so she had a secure grip.

In return Sirius locked his hand around the waistband of her skirt to hold her close.

"Let's go," Lily said as she felt Sirius tense again and the flames flared. But before anything could happen she felt the familiar pull behind her navel and her vision blurred for a moment.

Once they reappeared Lily immediately re-tightened her hold as she felt Sirius' grip slip slightly before James Apparated them further.

He Apparated them more times than Lily could keep track of before he seemed to settle on a location.

The second they arrived and she didn't feel an immediate pull anymore she turned to check their surroundings, without ever letting go of Sirius' sleeve. She forced herself to ignore Sirius' muffled screams as his hold on her had slacked completely.

"Clear," she whispered as her eyes flashed over the cabin.

"Homenum Revelio," James murmured and Lily felt the spell swoop over her before James slipped his wand into his sleeve and slid his arms under Sirius' knees to lift him up into his arms.

"No one around. The wards my parents placed on this cabin haven't been touched in years so we're good for now," he breathed out, his voice full of relief.

"Let's get you somewhere lying down," he said softly as he carried Sirius to the small bed in the corner.

Lily lowered her own wand and hurried forward but paused as she saw the state of the bed. The blankets were torn apart so badly it was a miracle it hadn't fallen apart yet. Her eyes finally took in the state the rest of the cabin. There were deep scratch marks everywhere she looked.

"James?" she whispered.

"Remus transformed here while we were on vacation together and Sirius kept him company in this small cabin because Prongs was to big. Those marks are from their playing around."

"This is from them playing around?" Lily looked at him in disbelief.

"You should have seen the Shack," James shot her a small smile as he picked up the rags and tapped it with his wand to fix it before covering Sirius with it.

"Is he still conscious?" Lily asked as she focused her attention on the matters at hand again.

"Sort of. The combination of Apparating, magic and contractions took everything out of him. I could feel the spasms in his body reacting to the magic being used around him."

Lily nodded as she caressed the hair out of his face. "He's burning up."

Sirius moaned softly, his expression tightening again and Lily carefully measured the time before looking at James.

"They come really fast together now. What do we do?"

James pulled a hand through his hair.

"I...I don't know. We can't perform a caesarean section because the spell is protecting his abdomen from any sort of harm."

"What if we tried to summon the baby? Relocate it somehow?"

"That would only work if there was nothing in between; the spell is blocking all sorts of magic."

"Can't we transfigure him into a girl?" Lily asked desperate as Sirius gasped out in pain, tears appearing in his eyes.

"I can transfigure him into an animal or object but his gender wouldn't change."

"Have you ever tried?"

"Yes! Well...we tried to turn Peter into a girl once when he was being particularly whiny. But it didn't work."

"James..." Sirius spoke between pained breaths.

"Just try to relax, we'll work something out."

"You have to cut me open."

"We already concluded that that would not work, Siri."

"No...ah!" Sirius almost folded double with pain and James immediately dropped at his side to try and support him.

"These contractions...the-they're not...I'm not..." Sirius trailed off as he was hit with yet another wave of pain, making it unable for him to speak.

"They are not what?" James asked as he gave Sirius his hand to squeeze through the pain.

"There are not contractions."

"Of course they are...they come at regular intervals and increase in strength," Lily said with a frown.

"I don't have a vagina or a birth canal...h-how can I have contractions if I don't have the parts that cause them," Sirius finally managed to bring out between gasps.

James stiffened and Lily felt her heart stop for a moment as his words truly got through to them.

"They couldn't be. Then what are they?" Lily asked alarmed.

"The baby is trying to get out the only way it instinctively knows how to," Sirius groaned as pain flashed over his features.

"The instinctive way would be through...he's tearing you apart from the inside!" Lily exclaimed horrified.

"Yeah...you have to cut me open," Sirius repeated as he blinked rapidly, tears falling down his cheeks as he did.

"I just said..." James started irritated.

"Not there...down there. If you don't h-he'll force his own way out," Sirius took a gasping breath once more before grinding his teeth.

"I...I can't! You'll be torn apart if I try to get the baby out like that," James exclaimed.

"He's doing a pretty good job of that right now, too," Sirius deadpanned. "I rather have you do it controlled than have him do ...ah...it forcefully...and rather you...than...no offense."

Lily let out a nervous laugh as she understood what he meant. "None taken."

"If we cut you open you'll bleed to death," James was near panic now but Sirius seemed to calm down completely despite the pain.

"I think I'm already bleeding internally anyway. If y-you don't then I'll certainly will. We...can't wait for Mum any longer."

He looked up at James with glassy eyes full of pain but they also shone with determination.

"I trust you."

James swallowed as he stared into his eyes before Sirius had to close them as the pain became overbearing.

"All right...I can do this..." James whispered.

He fumbled with Sirius' pyjama pants, pulling them and his boxers out before pushing his shirt up while Lily shifted so that she could let his head rest on her lap.

She tossed the blanket over his legs as James pushed them into a bended position to try and give him a sense of privacy.

Sirius glanced up at her with what she assumed was appreciation but his gaze was so filled with pain and exhaustion that she couldn't be sure. She placed her hands onto his arms, bending slightly over him so she could try to keep him as still as possible while James would cut him open.

"You're bleeding," James sounded horrified.

"I wasn't kidding when I said he's trying to tear me apart," Sirius shivered in both pain and coldness.

"He won't hold on much longer," Lily warned as she saw it wasn't just the cold that made him shiver as exhaustion was sweeping in.

"Right...this is going to hurt," James warned.

Sirius gave a slightly hysterical chuckle that made James smile faintly before he swallowed and started to cut into Sirius' skin with his wand.

Involuntarily Sirius bucked, trying to get away from him but Lily held him in place as an intense scream tore from his throat.

"Merlin! He's...I can see the baby's head...I-I need to cut further," James choked on his words.

"Do it, James," Lily ordered, feeling Sirius shaking below her as he sobbed uncontrollably in pain.

"I can't! He's a mess. I...I think part of his spleen just dripped out, there's blood everywhere," tears streamed down his cheeks and he trembled almost as severely as Sirius did while he repeated himself. "There's blood everywhere."

"James...James listen to me. You need to get the baby out or Sirius _will_ bleed to death. You can't fix the damage being done unless the baby's out and to do that you need to continue."

Lily felt close to hysterics herself as she saw blood pool rapidly around James' knees, more than could be considered safe. But she forced herself to push her feelings away. Knowing that she needed to be the voice of reason right now as James was beyond hysterics and Sirius was in no condition to tell James what to do.

"Do you understand?" she asked, her heart clenching when James looked up to her. He had never looked more terrified to her than he did now, covered in his best friend's blood and her heart bled for him.

She couldn't comfort him or assure him all would be all right though. Not while Sirius was bleeding out between them.

"Okay...Sirius, I know you are definitely not a girl, but when I say yes I need you to push with everything you have. James is going to pull and together you might be able to get him out without causing more damage."

Bleary eyes looked up to her as tears flowed down freely. He coughed weakly and blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth and she swallowed.

His internal bleedings were a lot more severe than she had originally though. He was barely coherent enough to understand what she was asking as what little energy he had left was being used to try and keep breathing. They had to take the baby out quickly.

"Just once, then you can rest okay?" she pleaded with him as she wiped the sweaty hair out of his face, trying to ignore the reddening lips and shivering body. Tightening her hold on his cold clammy arms she nodded determinately.

"Now, James."

Sirius' body tensed as he tried to follow her orders, too, but she could see he just didn't have the strength left anymore.

"M..sorry," he whispered weakly, his voice raw and hoarse from screaming.

"It's okay honey. James will just have to do it alone and you'll try your hardest to stay awake okay?"

Glancing up at James she saw his expression tightened in determination. He too could see that Sirius was slipping away and knew they had to hurry up as he was losing too much blood.

Seeing Sirius so weak seemed to give James new strength as he took a deep breath before he suddenly reached forward and pulled without warning. Sirius' rapid breathing stocked as his eyes glazed over, but a suddenly wail made Lily look up abruptly to see the first glimpse of the baby.

He was covered in blood and really small but still he was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

James hurriedly wrapped Sirius' deserted pyjama pants around him and Lily laughed as tears filled her eyes.

"Did you see that? We did it Siri," she whispered as she looked down at him.

Immediately her heart clenched as his eyes were closed and he was completely motionless, his body not shivering anymore. He had gone completely slack in the few seconds she had been distracted.

"Siri...Sirius!" she yelled his name as she ran her hands over his cold skin to locate his pulse and heartbeat, trying not to flinch at the blood and the extreme coldness of his skin.

"Sirius...Sirius wake up!" James appeared out of nowhere again and clawed at Sirius' unresponsive body, shaking him desperately.

"He's not breathing...there's no heartbeat."


	10. Chapter 10

Warnings: see chapter 1

Chapter 10

Immediately Lily started to perform chest compressions like she had been taught in primary school.

"What are you doing?" Confused James halted in his frantic shaking of Sirius' body when he saw her movements.

"Trying to start his heart again. In the Muggle world we use paddles with electricity to get a heart to start again when it stops."

"Elec...that's like high voltage through the body right?" James asked trying to understand through his panic, knowing it might help save Sirius.

"Yes."

"Move away," James ordered as he raised his wand.

There was something in his voice that made Lily listen immediately, moving moments before he spoke.

"Crucio!"

For a second time in mere minutes Lily's breathe stocked as the Unforgivable Curse slammed into Sirius' unresponsive body.

She bit her lip as James cast the curse repeatedly at Sirius, knowing it was described as a thousand needles being stabbed through your body at high speed. Technically it would have the same effect as being electrocuted.

Though she herself had never experienced the pain due to sheer luck, she wished with her entire being that James' desperate action would work like he intended it to.

Even if Sirius would be in considerable pain, it would be worth it if it meant he would be alive.

She had gotten him into his situation. If she hadn't had that rare virus he would never have offered to perform the spell and wouldn't be in this horrible condition right now.

Suddenly Sirius gasped and began to cough weakly as James cast the spell once more. His breathing was irregular though and Lily feared that he wouldn't keep breathing for long.

But James didn't waste time and immediately began to try and heal the damage before he'd lose even more blood or his heart would stop again.

Lily made an attempt to move to Sirius' side but James' voice stopped her.

"I need your help; he's bleeding too severely for me to keep up with it."

"Right."

Grabbing her wand Lily moved to his side, swallowing thickly as she saw the exact extent of the damage the baby had done and the true amount of blood he had lost for the first time.

Forcing the bile rising in her mouth away she set to work, using her limited knowledge of healing spells to help James heal the internal organs the baby had ripped apart and force them back into place.

She was sweating by the time they were finally able to fully heal the arteries and knit the skin back together. Even James seemed fatigued by the time they were healing the skin and he was far more used to using healing charms than she was.

The moment the last piece of skin was knitted back together James shrugged out of his pyjama jacket and carefully slid it behind Sirius before wrapping him up in it to try and give his cold unresponsive body some warmth.

Although Sirius' heart hadn't stopped again, he gave no indication of awareness as James covered him with the bloodied blanket, keeping it just above his hips in an attempt to give him some privacy, despite knowing that Lily had just seen him naked and probably didn't give a damn with all that was happening.

"Go take care of Harry, I'll take care of Sirius from here," he said. Now that Sirius wasn't actually dying anymore he'd gotten enough of a grip on himself to take charge again. Though the shaking of his hands betrayed how shaken he still was.

"Are you sure?" Lily asked, torn between wanting nothing more than to see and touch her baby for the first time and making sure Sirius wouldn't still die while her back was turned.

"Go see to our baby, comfort him. There's nothing more you can do for Siri right now," James assured and Lily nodded.

Rising on shaky legs she moved to where the soft wails were coming from. He had been hurriedly wrapped into Sirius' pyjama pants, which were mostly blood free and she carefully adjusted it a bit to cover the baby up more warmly before she picked him up.

A wide smile spread over her lips even as tears fell down once more. Though this time they were of happiness as she held her baby against her.

"Hey there," she whispered as she got her first good look at him. He was so small but already had a patch of dark coloured hair that she just knew would grow into a disastrous mess. She used one pant leg to carefully wipe some blood from his tiny face and let her finger slide over his nose and cheeks.

"You are so beautiful. So perfect and beautiful," she continued to whisper to him as he felt absolutely right in her arms.

"I'm your mummy and your daddy is over there with your godfather. They aren't able to come say hello to you right now because you hurt your godfather pretty badly while trying to get out. But we'll fix him up so that you can meet him. Without him you wouldn't be here you know?"

She smiled when he settled in her arms, his wails stopping slowly.

She turned to James, who had managed to clean the blanket a little and was now using a torn piece from his own pyjama pants to try and clean the blood from Sirius' torso with it. He didn't even seem to notice that he himself was covered in blood, too.

Picking up the water bottle she moved back to his side so that she could help him.

"Here," she put the bottle into his hand before placing Harry onto the bed and watching James immediately drench the cloth with water before he almost compulsively starting to remove as much blood as he could.

Not that she could blame him, seeing Sirius so pale and still while covered in so much blood made her want to get rid of it too. Even if it wouldn't return the blood back into his body.

"Do you think it will be safe to move him?" she asked while wetting part of her skirt before using it to clean the sweat, tears and blood from Sirius' face and lips.

"I'm not sure we have any choice. He needs medical attention as soon as possible. We stopped the bleeding and healed the obvious damage. But who knows what else was damaged that we didn't catch," James looked up to her. "How's Harry?"

"Asleep and perfectly fine."

Relieved James caressed his hand over Sirius' cheek.

"Hear that? We did it...you did it," he whispered, warming Lily's heart with the love and tenderness in his voice as he spoke to Sirius.

"Maybe we could call Tiffy? The spell's broken so it shouldn't harm him anymore if we call her right?" she suggested.

"Even if it does, he can't get much worse than this. Tiffy!" James agreed.

They both tensed involuntary at the loud crack but Sirius gave no response to her magic. Not that Lily had truly expected him to.

"Master James sir!" the little elf sounded relieved. "Mistress was so worried but did not dare send Tiffy to see if Sir was all right."

"Are Mum and Dad safe?" James asked.

"Yes. Manor wasn't breached, only the Floo was."

They both let out a relieved breath.

"Mistress tried to contact you on the mirror several times, but she really worried when Master James did not answer. Tiffy worried too...Oh no Master Sirius!" Tiffy exclaimed as she spotted Sirius on the bed.

She rushed forward to fold her small fingers around his wrist tenderly. "Poor, poor sir."

James let her fuss over Sirius while he fumbled for his mirror and pulled it out before tapping it with his finger.

"Mum." Immediately his mother's worried face appeared to them.

"James? Oh James I was so worried! Are you safe?"

"Yeah, Tiffy says you two are too?"

"We are back at Potter Manor. Your father checked the wards but they haven't been breached. Your house was trashed though."

"How did they get passed the Fidelius?" Lily asked.

"They didn't need to. Our Floo was connected to the main network and they would have known I would be taking care of Lily since you were in hiding. They must have discovered that your Floo was connected to ours. So they broke into the Longbottom house and used their Floo to locate the single connection to our Floo not connected to the network. They bypassed the Fidelius Charm that way and probably called their buddies from there."

James and Lily shared a surprised look. They hadn't expected the Floo could have given them away.

"It is August first..." Dorea sounded hopeful.

"Harry was born about a minute before the clock first stroke twelve," James answered her unspoken question with a sigh.

Lily bit back a sob as that part of the prophecy came back to her.

_Born as the seventh month dies._

A minute before midnight certainly qualified as the seventh month dying. One more piece leading to Harry being in danger.

"He was born two hours ago? How is Sirius?" Dorea's voice was a mix of panic and shock with concern flowing through it.

Lily glanced at James' watch surprised. Had they truly been trying to heal Sirius for two hours?

"He's in a bad shape and needs your help as soon as possible," James answered his mother.

"Get him here now."

"Tiffy will take you all along Master James," the little elf spoke immediately when James hesitated, anticipating her masters need to stay at Sirius´ side.

"You can?"

"Yes sir. Tiffy will be real careful with Master Siri and Master Harry. Tiffy promises."

James nodded before carefully lifting Sirius into his arms and shifted him so that his head rested against James´ shoulder.

Lily tucked the blanket around him securely to cover him up a bit more before picking Harry and the mirror up.

"We'll arrive right away," she warned them securing Harry against her, placing her free hand on James' upper arm.

At his nod Tiffy Apparated them.

Lily almost lost her balance upon arriving, not used to elf Apparition but Tiffy's magic kept her upright as she pulled Harry tighter against herself to protect him.

"James! _Sirius_...bring him in here," Dorea missed a step when she spotted Sirius and Lily couldn't blame her.

James was covered in Sirius' blood, dressed in only a pair of torn pyjama pants while carrying an incredibly pale and unconscious Sirius who was also covered in blood. He was naked except for the pyjama jacket and blanket they had wrapped around him.

And she expected she herself didn't look much better.

"What happened?" Dorea breathed out as she threw the blankets from the bed so that James could lower Sirius onto it, not caring about getting the mattress bloodied.

She immediately set to work, waving her wand over his body in various complicated movements while Charlus placed a large tray with potions on the bedside table.

"The C-section didn't work. The spell protected his abdomen. We couldn't cut into it so we had to cut him open because the baby was tearing him apart from the inside."

"Cut him open...you mean down..." Charlus paled at James' words, unable to finish his sentence as he stared at Sirius in horror.

"There was so much blood...I..." suddenly James burst into tears, the tension and emotions finally overwhelming him again now that Sirius was in good hands.

Charlus wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him against his side, not being foolish enough to try and take Sirius from his son's direct line of sight by hugging him right now.

Lily explained to them what had happened.

"If he hadn't realised that it weren't contractions..." Charlus trailed off as he shuddered, carefully rubbing his son's back as James hiccupped through his tears.

"Will he be all right?" he asked as he looked at his mother when she straightened after almost a full hour had passed.

"I have healed what was left of the internal damage; you did marvellous with what you knew. I've given him several blood-replenishing potions through skin absorption," she paused as she cleaned the sheets underneath Sirius from any lingering blood and covered him with a fresh blanket, tossing the old one onto the ground with James' ruined pyjama jacket.

"I can't do much about his coldness until his blood is completely replenished and being pumped around more quickly again but we'll cover him up with some more blankets and use heating charms on them to try and give him some warmth back," she placed a hand on James' shoulder.

"He will probably feel dizzy and cold when he wakes up. It's going to take time for him to regain his strength after so much blood loss, even with the potions helping. So don't be surprised that when he wakes up it will only be for a few moments at first," Dorea smiled at her son.

"I believe that with enough rest he will be fine though."

Sighing in relief James let himself sink onto the bed edge, taking Sirius' hand in his own and softy caressing it.

"Do you want me to help you dress him up or do you want your dad to help you?"

"No...I'll do it on my own if you don't mind. There is someone the two of you should meet," James indicated to Lily with a smile.

Dorea clapped her hands together in delight as she spotted the bundle in Lily's arms.

"Our grandchild!" she exclaimed happily as she peeked into the bundle.

"You want to hold him?" Lily asked.

"Can I?"

"Of course. Could you please check his health too?"

"I'll use all the standard spells we used at St. Mungo with newborn babies."

Carefully she took the baby over from Lily.

"Oh Charlus, look at him. He's got the shape of your eyes, sweetheart," Dorea said with a nod to Lily.

"And your ears too," Charlus looked over her shoulder and shifted the clothing away a little before looking at what he was moving confused.

"Is that a pyjama?"

"Yeah...we were out of proper wrapping," Lily smiled apologetic.

"Where was he born?" Dorea asked.

"A cabin where Remus transformed during a vacation of yours in fifth year," Lily answered.

"I will ask Tiffy to remove any trace of your presence there in case someone might locate it. It is not likely they will put the pieces together but we shouldn't take any chance," Charlus said, sending the little elf on her way as she had lingered to see how Sirius was doing.

Lily nodded before she looked back to the bedroom.

"Go with Dorea, I'll keep an eye on the boys," Charlus said softly as he placed a hand on her arm.

"I've never seen him that terrified before," Lily whispered as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"When it comes to Sirius, James is very overprotective. They've shared a special connection since the day they met," he said.

"It's not one way either. They are so close I sometimes wonder if they don't secretly share a brain," Lily said with a small smile.

"They are closer than brothers. Seeing Sirius this hurt..." Dorea trailed off before she shuddered and took Lily and the baby with her to the living room while Charlus returned to the bedroom.

"It is the main reason why I was so surprised when I learned of what the three of you had done. That James accepted for Sirius to endanger himself like that is remarkable," she continued as she placed Harry down onto the couch and started waving her wand over him.

"He wasn't too happy when Sirius first suggested it but he talked him around."

"That sounds like them, yes. When we first learned the truth about Sirius' home situation we were so helpless. After he ran away we swore that we would never let anything happen to him again. James vowed to always keep Sirius safe."

Dorea sighed as she paused in her examination for a moment to look up to Lily.

"I've never thanked you for accepting their bond and not trying to break them apart."

Lily shifted. "There is no reason to thank me for that. I love James; his strong unwavering bond with Sirius is part of the reason why I finally began to see him as the brilliant person that he truly is. I would never try to hurt him like that."

"Not changing him and accepting Sirius so deeply into your life are two different things."

"Sirius is family and not just because of James. My sister always made me feel horrible about myself, Sirius has given me a sense of what a sibling truly should be like and I am very happy with him around. Things wouldn't be the same without him and he will be involved completely in raising Harry because I want him to be, regardless of what he´s done for us. He is my little brother too."

Dorea swallowed thickly before she smiled. She looked back at Harry and picked him up again.

"He's perfectly healthy and one beautiful baby," she concluded as she placed a kiss on Harry's forehead before placing him back into Lily's arms.

"Let's get you into the shower to clean yourself up before we bring our boys something to eat. I expect James to be glued to that chair for as long as it takes for Sirius to properly wake up so it might be wise to bring him some water so he can wash himself too."

"And a change of clothes," Lily agreed with a laugh, knowing Dorea was completely right about how James would behave.


	11. Chapter 11

Warnings: see chapter 1

Chapter 11

"Hey, mind if I join you?"

Lily placed a cup of tea on the side table for James when he startled awake.

"Where's Harry?" he asked as he yawned and stretched a little.

"Asleep. Any change?" she sat down when he shifted to the bed edge so that she could take the chair.

"He's regained a bit of colour since the last potions round again and his shivering lessened a little."

"That's a good thing."

"Yeah, the heating charms don't seem to work too well so I grabbed another blanket."

Lily glanced at the pile of blankets carefully tucked around Sirius.

"Do they help?"

"A little. Mum wanted to give him a pepper up potion, but didn't dare to because his heart stopped before and he hasn't woken up yet."

Lily nodded before she bit her lip.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?" James asked as he took a sip from his tea.

"It is my fault he is like this. If only I had been..."

"Nonsense, he didn't know this would happen. None of us did. It is not your fault, or his, or even mine," James interrupted her.

"I still feel guilty though."

"You better not tell him that."

"Don't you feel guilty? I know he offered it himself but we were the ones who agreed," Lily whispered.

"I do. But he'll only become annoyed if we feel guilty, saying he wanted to do this so we better stop acting like idiots."

Lily laughed. "That indeed sounds like him, yeah."

"James?" a soft voice interrupted their soft chuckling.

Immediately James bent over Sirius.

"Hey," he whispered as he brushed his thumb over Sirius' cheek.

"'S cold," Sirius shivered.

"I know. You'll get warm soon."

"Heavy."

James smiled. "Those are the blankets covering you. Can you open your eyes for me?"

"Tired."

"I know, but try to do so for me okay?"

"Thirsty," Sirius' voice was becoming slightly stronger before he coughed.

Lily grabbed a glass of water and a sponge, wetting it before giving it to James so he could wet Sirius' lips with it.

Almost immediately Sirius licked his lips and James gave a tiny squeeze in the sponge so he could drink, which he did.

"Had enough?" James asked once the sponge was empty.

"Thanks."

"Can you open your eyes now?"James pleaded with him as he gave the sponge back to Lily.

Sirius' eyes fluttered but it still took several tries before he could open them slightly.

"Hey," James' face broke into an enormous smile.

"Hey. What happened?" Sirius managed to get his eyes slightly further open and wince in pain.

"The baby," Lily spoke up when James seemed incapable of doing anything else than beam.

"Baby?" Sirius seemed confused for a moment before he seemed to remember what had happened. "Harry. Is he all right?"

"Perfectly healthy and asleep. He is in better shape than you."

Grey tired eyes slowly shifted to her.

"Shape? Harry's in shape?" he sounded even more confused than before and they both realised he was still too far out of it to truly understand long sentences.

"Harry's fine," James reassured him softly.

Sirius attempt at a smile was pathetic but it put James at ease even more.

"I'm tired," Sirius repeated his earlier words as his eyes slowly drooped again.

"Sleep Siri. I'll be right here," James whispered.

The grey eyes shifted back to him.

"You should sleep, you look like crap."

James let out a choked laugh. "Yeah...I'll sleep too. Right here," he promised as he tapped the bed.

Sirius made an agreeable humming sound before his eyes closed completely and his breathing evened out again.

"He's asleep again," James confirmed unnecessarily.

"He's right, you know? You should sleep properly too," Lily smiled at James. Now that Sirius had woken up for a moment a weight seemed to have been lifted from his shoulders and new energy had filled him.

"I'm not leaving."

"I didn't say you should. Just crawl in beside him. It's not like you've never shared a bed before and as an added benefit your body heat might make him feel warmer."

James blinked. "I love you...did you know that?"

"I have an inkling, yeah," Lily chuckled and James smiled before he sobered.

"I'm sorry I've given you and Harry so precious little attention these last few days."

"Just focus on Sirius right now, he needs you. Harry and I aren't going anywhere," Lily squeezed his hand.

"But..."

"But nothing. In fact, if you weren't acting the way you do now I would have been disappointed in you. Sirius is our brother and he needs you right now," she interrupted him.

James let out a dry chuckle. "If someone had tried to tell me five years ago that the two of you would become his close I'd have wondered what kind of potion they'd been sniffing."

"Five years ago I hated your guts, too. I believed you were an arrogant toe-rag," she grinned. "I was very wrong about the Marauders, especially the two of you. And I am glad that I was."

She rose from her chair and placed a kiss on his lips.

"I'll let your parents know he woke up for a few minutes and check on Harry. It is almost feeding time anyway. You make sure that you get some rest."

"Are you sure you don't want me to feed Harry?" James asked.

"You can have the night shift again," she told him with another grin. "Now are you getting into bed or what?"

"Should I be worried about my wife's wish that I crawl into bed with another man?" James teased her as he stripped to his underwear before slipping between the blankets.

Lily only smiled, too happy to see him smile and tease her again to give a proper reaction.

"Sleep well. I'll come back in an hour or so and sit with him again."

"Thanks," James yawned.

She leaned over him to kiss him once more before walking to the other side of the bed.

Sticking out her tongue to her husband she placed a soft kiss on Sirius' forehead, ignoring the grin she could feel James displayed and left the room to alert her parents-in law.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the course of the next few days Sirius woke up several times, slowly becoming more coherent and staying awake longer.

Once he was able to stay awake for a longer period of time, Lily left the room to return with Harry.

"Is that..." Sirius trailed off as he saw the bundle in Lily's arms.

James had rearranged the pillows so that he could sit up a bit, knowing where Lily had gone.

"Yeah, it is about time that you properly met him. You have been asking about him every time you woke up," Lily smiled as she sat down at the bed edge so that Sirius could peek into the bundle without having to stretch.

Despite being awake and able to sit up he didn't have much strength in his body yet.

"Hello there," Sirius smiled.

"Do you want to hold him?" Lily asked as she shifted Harry in her arms.

Sirius hesitated. "Are you sure? What if I drop him?"

"You won't," James assured him as Lily placed the sleeping Harry in his arms, not taking no for an answer.

Instinctively Sirius' shifted him into a more secure position so that Harry's head rested in the nook of his arm.

"See?" James grinned.

"He's so small," Sirius looked down at the baby in his arms in awe before he smiled sadly. "Poor kid."

James frowned confused but after a moment Lily burst out in laughter as she noticed what Sirius was referring to.

"What am I missing?" James asked as he looked between them.

"He's got your hair," Sirius said with a grin.

"Yeah so?"

"Like I said, poor kid. He's got the shape of your eyes and ears though," Sirius said with a nod to Lily as he carefully brushed his finger over the baby's features.

"Oh..." Sirius' smile widened as Harry opened his eyes at the new voice.

Over the course of the last five days Harry's eyes had slowly turned from the common baby blue to green. Lily knew they would eventually become the same shade as hers and that was what Sirius was grinning about now.

"Hello. You got your mummy's pretty eyes you know. And don't worry, we'll try to find a way to get your hair to lay flat once you are older," he spoke to him as Harry gurgled to him and James spluttered.

"I think he likes you," Lily beamed as Harry folded his tiny hand around Sirius' index finger.

"I rather like him too," Sirius confessed with an answering smile.

"Hm...so, no hard feelings over his trying to rip you apart?" Lily asked softly, knowing he wouldn't have but still unable to prevent herself from asking.

"More like blasted me apart. He's magical all right. No need to wait for accidental magic to confirm that," Sirius said as he shifted Harry slightly so that he was more leaning against his chest than in his arms as they began to tremble under the baby's weight despite his small form.

Lily knew it would take some time before he would have his old strength back so she didn't comment on it, only smiled at his precaution.

"Blast you...oh. That explains a lot. Bare baby fingers shouldn't have been able to cut through the magical womb like that, yet he did. Though magic like that before being born is really rare," James added almost as an afterthought.

"Hmm, as long as he doesn't do it again I don't really care if it's rare or not. He's healthy, has his mum's pretty eyes and didn't start crying upon seeing me. I think I'm content."

"Do you think he'll inherit anything from you?" Lily suddenly asked after a few minutes in which Sirius played with Harry's fingers.

"Why would he? I'm not his parent," Sirius frowned as he looked up to her.

"Technically..."

"Technically nothing. Your genes, not mine. I only carried him."

"I wouldn't call that only. I was hoping he'd get at least something from you," Lily sighed.

"Why would you want that" Sirius asked confused.

"It would be fitting I think. And yes, I know you say you were only the carrier but to me he holds a part of you too. You carried him for six months."

"I don't know. What I do know however is that he's trying to suck my finger into his mouth. Is it perhaps feeding time?" Sirius asked teasingly.

They all looked down to indeed see Harry holding Sirius' finger with both hands and having it inside his mouth.

Lily chuckled before checking her watch. "Yes, I'll get his bottle."

Sirius raised an eye brow before he seemed to realise something. "No breast milk of course. Sorry."

"Here and don't be," Lily returned with a bottle. "Dorea was already heating it."

"Why are you giving me the bottle?" Sirius asked, though he automatically changed Harry's position to a proper feeding position.

"Your turn to give him his bottle."

"My...are you sure? I mean, I don't want to intrude."

"You don't. You are Harry's parent as much as we are. And even if you refuse to see the truth about that you are still his godfather. Meaning you will be involved in raising him," Lily said determinedly.

"I..." Sirius trailed off as he looked into her determined gaze before glancing down at Harry.

"You are part of our family Siri. You can't have children of your own but Lily is right when she says that Harry holds a part of you too. I know how much you have always wanted to have a family of your own. This is that family," James had lifted Sirius' chin and made him look into his eyes.

"So stop belittling yourself and give your godson his bottle before he eats your finger."

He pushed the bottle back into Sirius' hand.

Sirius stared at him for a long moment before he looked down at Harry once more.

Slowly and almost shyly a small smile spread over his lips as he gave in and began to feed his godson.

Lily and James shared a look together as they both watched the two of them fondly.

Xxxxxx

Though they swore to never speak a word of the conditions of Harry's birth to anyone, no one failed to notice something had happened to bring the three of them even closer than before.

Eventually Sirius moved back into his own apartment with Remus, who had indeed barely missed him, though he came over as often as he could to play with Harry and bring him little gifts.

And while with time some bonds were questioned and as the war raged on, suspicion over actions broke people apart, the bond between the three of them only grew stronger.

And Lily was happier than ever before. She knew that she would never be able to have another child. But as she leaned in the doorway and watched her three favourite men play together she knew she didn't need or want one.

She already had all she could have ever wanted.

The End


End file.
